Visitors to the Martin Luther King Jr. library in D.C. can check out some of Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches and notes, which have never been seen in the U.S. until this summer.
Visitors will see evidence of what was “inside the mind of an Italian genius,” exhibit curators said.
Portions of da Vinci’s “Codex Atlanticus” — works that focused on his exploration of technical, engineering and scientific subjects — make up the heart of the exhibit.
“We are absolutely seeing the STEM side of Leonardo,” D.C. Public Library Executive Director Richard Reyes-Gavilan said, adding that it was an honor to have da Vinci’s work displayed at the library, because it might normally be found at a museum.
“We think that this is a wonderful opportunity to democratize Leonardo da Vinci,” and make his art and his genius more accessible to visitors, Reyes-Gavilan said.
Reyes-Gavilan explained that the works, which span from the late 1400s to 1506, can only be on display for brief periods in order to preserve them.
When they arrived in D.C., Reyes-Gavilan said unpacking them was akin to “a religious experience.”
The documents that were in the hand of da Vinci are a “wonderful example of his relentless curiosity,” Reyes-Gavilan said.
The meticulously rendered drawings are illuminated, but the room that houses them is dimly lit.
Monsignor Alberto Rocca, director of the Art Gallery of Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan, and an expert on da Vinci, explained that light can damage the works. So, there are strict rules about how they can be displayed, and for how long.
“The simplest rule is that we cannot exhibit the drawings for more than 90 days, and then after 90 days we have to cover them in darkness for three years.”
Rocca said that the staff of the library collaborated with his own staff in putting the exhibit together.
The exhibit was made possible by Confindustria, which represents 150,000 Italian companies.
“We want to build a bridge between our countries, our economies, our industries,” said Carlo Bonomi, president of Confindustria.
But Bonomi added that there’s a desire to strengthen cultural and social bonds between Italy and the U.S., as well.
“Da Vinci is the very best ambassador of our genius, of our Italian genius,” Bonomi said. “I’m very proud of this exposition, and I’m very proud of Italian industry.”
The spirit behind the exhibit isn’t limited to the drawings on view. There is also a hands-on component for children and their families to explore their own interests in how things work. It’s called “Leonardo’s Lab.”
“It’s a series of tables where kids and families can practice doing the sorts of things that Leonardo did” by building cities, and creating small renditions of the types of machines that fascinated da Vinci, Reyes-Gavilan said.
The exhibit “Imagining the Future. Leonardo da Vinci: In the Mind of an Italian Genius” is on view from June 21 through Aug. 20. Admission to the exhibit is free.
