Largest-ever display of Leonardo da Vinci works in Scotland opens in Edinburgh
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, November 2, 2024


Largest-ever display of Leonardo da Vinci works in Scotland opens in Edinburgh
A member of Royal Collection Trust staff examines Leonardo da Vinci's The fetus in the womb, c.1511. The largest-ever display of Leonardo da Vinci works in Scotland opens at The Queen's Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse 22.11.2019-15.03.2020. Photo: Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019. Photographer David Cheskin.



EDINBURGH.- The largest group of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci ever shown in Scotland forms a new exhibition opening today (22 November) at The Queen’s Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse. Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing marks the 500th anniversary of the artist’s death and includes 80 of the Renaissance master’s greatest drawings, selected entirely from the unrivalled holdings of the Royal Collection.

In the breadth of his interests, Leonardo da Vinci was the archetypal ‘Renaissance man’, and his work is characterised by a multitude of artistic and scientific pursuits that cross-fertilised each other over many years. The exhibition explores the full range of the artist’s interests, providing a comprehensive survey of Leonardo’s life and a unique insight into the workings of his mind.

Leonardo was revered in his day as a painter, but he completed only around 20 paintings. He was respected as a sculptor and architect, but no sculpture or buildings by him survive. He was a military and civil engineer, but his schemes were never realised. As an anatomist, he dissected 30 human corpses, but his ground-breaking anatomical work was never published. He planned treatises on painting, water, mechanics, the growth of plants and many other subjects, but none was ever finished. As so much of his life's work was unrealised or destroyed, Leonardo's greatest achievements survive only in his drawings and notes.

Each thematic grouping in the exhibition contains examples of the artist’s finest drawings. A number of Leonardo’s preparatory studies for paintings are on display, including a study for The Madonna and Child with St Anne and a lamb (c.1508–19), and four of the six surviving preparatory studies for the Last Supper (c.1495–8). One of these is the sole compositional study that exists for the painting, fluidly sketched by Leonardo on a sheet of paper covered with other drawings, and on display in Scotland for the first time.

Key anatomical studies include The skull sectioned (1489), The fetus in the womb (c.1511) and The cardiovascular system and principal organs of a woman (c.1509–10), on which Leonardo’s inky thumbprint can be seen. The natural world is explored by Leonardo through detailed landscapes, studies of water and in numerous botanical studies, the finest of which were developed in preparation for the now lost painting Leda and the Swan. Drawings of horses abound throughout Leonardo’s work, including studies for three equestrian monuments that were never realised.

Among the highlights of the exhibition are the only two surviving likenesses of Leonardo made during the artist’s lifetime. One is the well-known formal portrait of the artist, drawn by his pupil Francesco Melzi (A portrait of Leonardo, c.1515–18). The second, A sketch of Leonardo (c.1517–18), was made by another assistant shortly before the master’s death in 1519. The sketch of an old man, whose identity was previously not known with any certainty, was identified as a depiction of Leonardo during research for the exhibition.

The exhibition in Edinburgh is the culmination of a year-long nationwide event, which has given the widest-ever UK audience the opportunity to see the work of this unparalleled artist. In February 2019, 144 of Leonardo’s drawings from the Royal Collection went on display in 12 simultaneous exhibitions at museums and galleries across the UK, attracting more than one million visitors in three months. In May 2019, the drawings were brought together at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace to form the largest exhibition of Leonardo’s work in over 65 years. The exhibition in London attracted the highest number of visitors per day in the almost 60-year history of The Queen’s Galleries.

Martin Clayton, Head of Prints and Drawings, Royal Collection Trust, said, ‘The drawings of Leonardo da Vinci are both incredibly beautiful and the main source of our knowledge of the artist. As our year-long celebration of Leonardo’s life draws to a close with the largest exhibition of his work ever shown in Scotland, we hope that as many people as possible will take this unique opportunity to see these extraordinary works, and engage with one of the greatest minds in history.’










Today's News

November 22, 2019

Largest-ever display of Leonardo da Vinci works in Scotland opens in Edinburgh

Piguet Auction House to offer a previously unseen painting by Félix Vallotton

Britain's art world turns its back on oil cash

New digital one-stop resource brings the travelling exhibitions world together

Centennial exhibition presents 100 important works from the permanent collection

Dirk Soulis to auction Edward P McHugh III historical railroadiana collection

Christie's to offer property from descendants of Their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary

Galerie Max Hetzler opens solo exhibition of new paintings by Robert Holyhead

Rare daguerreotype purchased by Hall Family Foundation for Nelson-Atkins

A Wonderful Life: Peter Fetterman Collection of 124 photographs offered at Bonhams New York

Belvedere 21 opens 'Eva Grubinger. Malady of the Infinite'

Exhibition at Nailya Alexander Gallery focuses on photographs as unique art objects

Artcurial opens a new office in Morocco

Looking at where Chicago works

Chelsea FC partner with RAF Museum to celebrate Jewish RAF Heroes

Wembley Park launches free light festival, 'Winterfest'

French post-war design leads Phillips' auction on 17 December

Summers Place Auctions' 7th Evolution Sale sees fossils still being favourites

Ruhlmann, Giacometti, Frank & more Modern masters lead a private collection of art & design at Sotheby's

Catalina Island Museum announces Johnny Sampson as Director of Exhibitions

Bertoia's auction of Tony Annese toy, train & Christmas collection hammers $1.8 m

Swann Illustration Art sale is packed with classics by Bemelmans, Gorey, Seuss, Wegener & more

Elyse Buxbaum is new Executive VP for Strategy and Development at Museum of Jewish Heritage

Turner Auctions + Appraisals announces the Glumac Collection of Furniture & Decorative Arts, Part II




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful