Leonardo: 500 Years into the Future represents the pivotal unity of art, technology and science of Leonardo da Vinci, Filippo Brunelleschi and the Sienese engineers of the Renaissance.
This is a world premier and exclusive U.S. showing at the Tech Museum beginning this Saturday September 27 and running through January 4, 2009.
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (1452 – 1519) was an astronomer, sculptor, geologist, mathematician, botanist, animal behaviorist, inventor, engineer, architect, musician, and painter. Leonardo is probably best known as the painter of the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Leonardo’s formal training in the anatomy of the human body and skill as an artist allowed him to make more than 200 drawings of the human body, visible anatomical features as well as internal organs. As an engineer, he drew plans for the submarine, helicopter, parachute, human powered flying machine, toothed wheels, pulleys and pulley blocks, crankshafts, flywheels, springs, shock absorbers, scissors, and the list goes on.
The exhibition, covering 30,000-square-feet in Parkside Hall, has a plethora of exhibits including art, sculptures, drawings, architectural projects, machines and mechanisms, anatomy, and aviation.
The life-sized and scale working models are based on conceptual drawings and designs by Leonardo, Francesco di Giorgio, Mariano di Iacopo (Taccola), and others. These models recreated using tools and materials common in Leonardo’s time. Most of Leonardo’s machines were never built in his lifetime, as many could not have been built due to the lack of suitable parts.
On display is a model of Leonardo’s Flying Machine where the wings are driven by back pedals, which the flier operates with alternating leg motions. The effect of this thrust is amplified by the hand-operated crank, which powers a hoisting device. Bring your wide-angle lens.
There is a cool planetary clock designed by Lorenzo della Volpaia. A planetary clock is not to keep time but to show the position of the heavenly bodies relative to the Earth, so that astrological influences could be calculated with precision.
Two Renaissance paintings by Leonardo’s disciples are included in the exhibition - Leda and the Swan and The Virgin and Child with St. Anne.
The curator of the exhibition is Leonardo da Vinci expert, Paolo Galluzzi, Director of the Institute and Museum of the History of Science - Florence, Italy.
Advanced “timed” tickets are required. Allow a minimum of two hours for the exhibition, as there are numerous displays and multimedia presentations.
Advance ticket sales have already exceeded last year’s Body Worlds exhibit.
This is a must see for the entire family.
The Tech Museum of Innovation
September 27, 2008 – January 4, 2009
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On October 16, 1968, SJSU students Tommie Smith and John Carlos made a silent gesture on top of the Olympic podium that shook the world and put San Jose on the map. Forty years later, the university will relive that spirit of activism by hosting Legacy Week from Oct. 13-16, according to the Spartan Daily (Read their excellent special section here).
This Sunday noon to 5:00 pm is The 8th Annual Antique Autos in History Park. There will be vintage autos (1900 to 1945), bicycles, motorcycles, fire equipment, early day gas engines which will power saws, washing machines and other tools needed in the early days, and more lining the streets.
