The Royal Collection © 2005, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Running until June 3 2006 the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter is exhibiting ten drawings by Leonard da Vinci (1452-1519) as part of celebrations for the 80th birthday of the Queen.
Part of a collection of over 600 and currently on loan from the Royal Library at Windsor Castle, the drawings offer a glimpse into the craft of an artist considered the most technically gifted of all. The exhibition has been selected to help the public understand the breadth of Leonardo’s career and to help us understand the huge scope of his interests.
“We are delighted that RAMM will be the first venue in the country to host this exciting exhibition from the Royal Collection,” said Barry McNamara, Exeter’s Lead Councillor for Environment and Leisure. “It will give people in the south west an extraordinary opportunity to view these masterpieces in one of the country’s finest museums.”
On show are studies for painting, sculpture and architecture, anatomical research (staggeringly accurate due to his dissection of human corpses), botany, designs for cannons and mortars, a picture puzzle, along with his drawing of an apocalyptic deluge.
Travelling from Renaissance Italy, via one of the Royal households, to Exeter in 2006 is quite a journey and viewing these drawings is a refreshing surprise.
My last appreciation of Da Vinci was marred by a savage hangover whilst viewing the Mona Lisa in Paris, so it's a treat to grab another opportunity to view his work. And this time I'm in a spaciously aired room in the West Country – as opposed to the blistering dehydration of a Parisian summer.
The Royal Collection © 2005, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Leonardo’s approach to drawing was as varied as his interests and he used a variety of techniques. A look at what’s on offer here demonstrates that he was as adept at using metalpoint as he was with pen and ink, brush and ink, and chalk. Each piece is painstakingly intricate, although paradoxically the works appear effortless.
A closer look at some of his drawings reveals how he enjoyed adding the grotesque image of a man’s head, seemingly incongruous, in some corner of an otherwise faultless piece.
The exhibition is not without its lighter moments. A pictograph, which combines objects, symbols and letters to form a puzzle, allows us to see Leonardo’s more playful musings. In one example, the code reads: “What can I do if the woman plucks my heart?”
Being left handed, he preferred to write his notes backwards, from right to left. Though this may render the inscriptions illegible, the museum has supplied mirrors with which to read them - handy if you happen to be well-versed in 15th century Italian.
The drawings have been in the Royal collection since the 17th century and were probably acquired during the reign of Charles II. Due to the damage caused by exposure to light, they can never be on permanent display, and should you not be able to make it to one of the exhibitions, a collection is always on show in the Drawings Gallery at Windsor Castle.
For those unable to make it down to Devon, there will also be chances to view the drawings when the exhibition moves on to Aberdeen Art Gallery, Leeds City Art Gallery and National Museum & Art Gallery, Cardiff.
