Da Vinci Experience and His Real Machines
I had the opportunity of experiencing a new Da Vinci exhibition in my hometown. Da Vinci Experience and His Real Machines was a beautiful, immersive journey into this famous artist’s life and work. As an art student, getting to see this exhibition unfold in a non-traditional way was very exciting. A harmony between digital media (immersive reality and VR ), and Da Vinci’s famous analog work, made this experience one of a kind. Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity of seeing any of the original Da Vinci work. However, this exhibition was the closest experience to witnessing his pieces. With more than ten replicas of his inventions and an immersive experience that made some of his famous paintings come to life, Da Vinci Experience and His Real Machines exhibition is one that every art aficionado should visit.
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci is considered a genius because of his versatile skills and multifaceted career. Starting this exhibition, viewers get to read and learn about Da Vinci’s life and what he did for a living. His interests varied from anatomy and engineering to painting and architecture. In addition to this, he was also a military strategist. Some of the interesting facts shared during this portion of the exhibition was that Da Vinci used to secretly go to morgues and dissect corpses to study their anatomy. His discoveries recorded in many of his codices were fundamental to the development of the medical field. His work is one of the many examples that prove the relationship between art and science. One of my biggest takeaways from this section is the following quote: “ Painting is science: it is universal, transmits to the viewer a form of communication that, unlike the spoken word, it is not changeable.” This harmony that this master of the arts, math, and science was able to develop is inspiring. We owe him so much to all his discoveries and studies, to the point that today in the twenty-first century, people continue to talk about him and present innovative exhibitions to teach new and young generations the wonders of this magnificent artist.
After the short introduction of Da Vinci’s life, viewers got to experience and learn a little bit about some of his most famous paintings and significant inventions. In this section, there were multiple replicas of some of the machines he invented, such as the parachute, bike, glider, a type of military tank, and various pulleys. In addition, each artifact included a short description of how they worked and impacted the engineering field.
Apart from the multiple machine replicas, this section of the exhibition had painting replicas of works such as “Virgin of the Rocks”, “Annunciation”, “Saint John the Baptist”, “Portrait of Ginevra Benci” and “Portrait of a Musician”. It also portrayed the collaborative work between Da Vinci and his master Andrea del Verrochio. Their styles were compared in the portrayal of “The Baptism of Christ .”
In addition to this, one of the most fun parts of this exhibition is that you could be inside Da Vinci’s most famous works: “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper”. These paintings were enlarged so you could take pictures as if you were painted as part of the masterpieces. However, this was only the beginning of bringing his work to life and making the viewer part of his artistic experience.
To culminate the exhibition with a flourish, the magic of digital media came into place. Spectators could dive deeply into many of Da Vinci’s pieces by witnessing an immersive reality experience. Some of the paintings were slightly animated and brought to life with music, permitting the viewer to have a one-of-a-kind experience with Da Vinci’s masterpieces. Apart from his two-dimensional work, many of his machines and inventions were also animated to explain their usage. Apart from the immersive reality experience, the machines were also enhanced in the virtual reality section of the exhibition. The addition of digital media within a traditional display was the pinnacle of the collection. This was the most attractive part that invited viewers to be part of a remarkable, beautiful journey within Da Vinci’s work.
After being presented in Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, and Brasil, this is the first time this particular exhibition has been shown in Puerto Rico and USA. If you live near the area or are looking to book your next vacation, this exhibition will be open at the Mall of San Juan until August. I believe no artist enthusiast should miss it.