Come and see our traveling exhibit Works of Leonardo da Vinci! This amazing exhibit will be displayed at the Saint Louis Art Museum during January 2004. The exhibit includes original drawings and sketches by Leonardo himself! Also in the exhibit are models of inventions designed by Leonardo da Vinci as much as 400 years before they would become real. See the model automobile made by Leonardo’s designs. Also explore the myriad of chains, ladders, and flying machines. Watch us demonstrate a parachute, made by Leonardo, that works just as well as parachutes used today. Don’t wait or it’ll be too late!

Who exactly is Leonardo da Vinci?

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, in the small town of Vinci, near Florence, Italy. During his teenage years Leonardo moved with his family to Florence, where he was apprenticed to a well known painter named Andrea del Verrocchio. Leonardo studied under Verrocchio from 1466-1478. Leonardo traveled to many places during his years as an artist, sculptor, architect, and even an engineer. Some of the places Leonardo visited included Milan, Italy; Rome, Italy; and Amboise, France. Leonardo was all that a true Renaissance man should be. He was a painter, a sculptor, an engineer, and an inventor. He exercised his talent in many areas, and he was often trying to learn about the world, about subjects like medicine and physics. Sadly, Leonardo da Vinci died in Amboise, France, on May 2, 1519, at the age of 67.

Was Leonardo da Vinci really an Inventor?

Leonardo da Vinci drew designs for many amazing inventions that would not be built or used regularly until many years after his death. Some of these inventions include portable bridges, cannons, even automobiles and airplanes. Many of his drawings are incredibly similar to what we actually use today. Take the picture (above) of a tank. Though the shape is unusual and it is propelled only by hand cranks, it is still an ingenious idea, an idea that would become a reality until more than 400 years after it was drawn.

Of course, not all of Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions were brand new and unheard of in his time. Leonardo also created designs to improve devices such as chains and ladders. He also drew designs for a fort that could withstand cannon fire, though cannons had yet to become practical military items. Some of these ideas were never used, but the genius behind them is most obvious, for he saw the future with those drawings and ideas.

Why should I want to see this exhibit?

Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most free thinking, unique, ingenuous, and famous men ever known throughout history. He has created many amazing artworks from his oil painting Mona Lisa to a mural of The Last Supper in the monastery Santa Maria delle Grazie, in Milan, Italy, to anatomical drawings of humans that are so accurate that they are still used today in some medical textbooks. These are just some of the uncountable reasons why everyone should go to the St. Louis Art museum and take a look at the traveling exhibit Works of Leonardo da Vinci, the Great Renaissance Man.