A Special Exhibit on Leonardo da Vinci

While visiting my daughter earlier this month in Spokane, WA, I had the chance to stop in at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture. I admit I have a special bias towards this museum as it was the site of our daughter's rehearsal dinner prior to her wedding. I always check out what is being featured at the museum when I am in town.

Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture

This time the museum is featuring an exhibit on the mastery of Leonardo da Vinci. Entitled "Man - Inventor - Genius", there are 60 models of inventions that Leonardo wrote about. These are displayed along with replicas of some of his famous masterpieces that he was painting at the same time. One begins to really grasp the amazing breadth of work of Leonardo.

In my travels I have been fortunate to see some of Leonardo's art works in person - the Mona Lisa in the Louvre in Paris and The Last Supper in Milan, Italy. But, I never tire of being reminded of the genius of da Vinci. One piece of information from the many displays that caught my eye this time related to the base he used for his paints. He was the first to experiment an oil base and it explained why people marveled at the depth of color he was able to create.

My favorite displays had to do with his thoughts on flight for man.

Here is an overview of the main display area at the museum with a backdrop of The Last Supper. All of these models were made to scale and produced by the Italian artisan family who has been building the inventions to da Vinci specifications for two centuries. The models cover flight, civil machines, hydraulics & engineering and military machines.

 The exhibit is at the museum until September 5. Hope that you can see it, or watch for where it might be going next. It is inspiring to view.