leonardo de vinci until july 5

Thanks so much to Christine Sawyer for this contribution.

The 5th floor of the Eaton Center has an exhibit hall and is presenting two exhibits this spring: Leonardo da Vinci – The Exhibition – Man, Inventor, Genius and Titanic – the Artifact Exhibition – Real Objects, Real Stories (which includes over 288 real artifacts recovered from the ocean floor).

I was surprised to see exhibits of such quality in a place I did not even know about. The Leonardo da Vinci exhibit we saw is definitely worth the visit. It has already visited several European and U.S. cities - if you are in Montreal in June, don’t miss it!

Throughout the exhibit, you are accompanied by Renaissance-era music from the time of Leonardo da Vinci, taking you back in time. You can also see the chronology of his life, which will surprise you. How can one man invent machines, discover anatomy and paint chefs d’oeuvre all at the same time?

The Leonardo da Vinci exhibit presents more than 60 custom-built models on everything from machines to lift heavy objects, war machines, flying machines and more. The wooden models have been made in vivid detail from da Vinci’s original drawings by skilled Italian craftsmen in Florence.

With these models, this exhibition reveals how much ingenious and ahead of the time da Vinci was. It is always a surprise to see that his inventions are still used today - more than 500 years later. Some of the most innovative and contemporary and inventions presented here include a hang glider, a parachute (don’t forget to look up not to miss those), a military tank, a self-moving car and elegant bridge structures.

A series of reproductions of Leonardo’s paintings are also represented in the first few rooms of the exhibit. Extensive research on the origins and the “life through centuries” of each of these paintings is detailed. You’ll learn things you have probably never heard about (I hadn’t!): the likely authenticity of each painting, the successive owners including kings and cardinals, where the paintings were displayed, their renovations and more.

You’ll learn the story of the famous Joconde, how it was stolen in 1911 and the multiple copies which were done at the time, which actually even leaves some little doubt about the authenticity of the one currently displayed at the Louvre, in Paris. You also see some of his notebooks with sketches and his famous “backward” writings.

The exhibit website has details of the exhibit.  Check the “press” page in particular for Leonardo da Vinci bibliography, life chronology, and fun facts.

If you go:  The Montreal Eaton Centre – 5th floor, 705 Sainte-Catherine Street West  

Opens daily at 10am; closes at 8 pm Sunday to Wednesday and 9 pm Thursday to Saturday.
Tickets: $12.95 or $14.95, on the web or at the door.