Da Vinci takes over Tech in a Renaissance storm

By Tara Sahdev

Leonardo da Vinci is in town and only a short drive away.

"Leonardo: 500 Years into the Future," the world's largest collection of the works of Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci, has made its world premier down the street at the San Jose Tech Museum of Innovation.

This exhibit, a comprehensive collection of the art and feats of science and engineering accomplished by the artist, has traveled over 5,000 miles, all the way from the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence, Italy, making this the first time the exhibit has ever been in the United States.

The four-part exhibit consists of paintings -- some borrowed from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence -- interactive activities, a Leonardo da Vinci Café and examples of da Vinci's machines and architecture, such as a working model of the human flying machine based on his original conceptual drawing.

This exclusive exhibit is in the Tech Museum for four months, until Jan. 4, 2009.

"When I looked at the manuscripts, I felt like I could see part of his mind. It made it into a real person even though he was a genius," said sophomore Laura Miotke.

The two paintings on display in the exhibit, "Leda and the Swan" and "The Virgin and Child with St. Anne," were not actually done by da Vinci.

"Leda and the Swan" was sketched by da Vinci but was never finished because he died soon after he began. It was completed by an anonymous painter sometime in the 15th century.

Da Vinci's original of "The Virgin and the Child with St. Anne" is in Paris, and the copy at the Tech Museum was done by his favorite disciple, Gian Giacomo Caprotti, who began working with da Vinci when he was 10 years old.

Across from the art gallery on the first floor is a workshop where visitors can make models of various da Vinci inventions from paper.

A different project is featured each day, such as making a catapult, parachute or life preserver. Although this part of the exhibit is mainly for children, adults are no strangers to it.

On the day that life preservers are featured, the table used for arts and crafts is made into a small river, and there is a competition to see who can keep the da Vinci action figure afloat the longest.

Upstairs is a maze exhibiting da Vinci's various creations. Many of the machines have been recreated to show the 3-D versions of his original creations.

Displayed in a glass case are many of his original manuscripts, but they are not comprehendible because da Vinci wrote from right to left. He did this because he found it more practical for someone who is left-handed.

There is also a section dedicated to da Vinci's sketches of the human body and its parts.

Da Vinci participated in the dissection of human bodies with a keen interest around the year 1505. In 1495, he designed and may have built the first human robot in the Western world.

There are multiple sections for da Vinci's building designs and horses. He found the symmetry and the complexity of horses' bodies intriguing. His obsession led him to build a horse that was 24-feet-tall and made completely out of bronze. An imitation of the horse is posted in front of the Tech Museum.

In addition to the main exhibits, the Tech Museum has a specific café and gift shop for the exhibit.

There is an added charge to see the da Vinci exhibit. The student ticket price is $20. The exhibit has been very successful, thanks to a host of volunteers and interested vistors.

For more information about the exhibit, visit www.thetech.org/leonardo.

Contact Tara Sahdev at (408) 551-1918 or tsahdev@scu.edu.