Reach back through time and touch history at Da Vinci: The Exhibition in the Imagine Exhibitions Gallery at The Venetian, a look at Leonardo da Vinci’s contributions as an inventor, artist, musician and city planner. This exhibit marks the second time the gallery has explored the Italian Renaissance genius’ works, and even if you saw the original exhibit two years ago, this new installation goes into far more depth with his range of works.
“This is a comprehensive look at what he did,” says Tom Zaller, CEO and president of Imagine Exhibitions. “From painting to sculpture to anatomy, his military inventions and machinery to buildings and cities. Boy, what didn’t this guy invent? He isn’t the inventor of everything. It was sitting there waiting to be seen. Most of his inspiration came from nature.”
Get your hands on more than 65 fully built inventions inspired by da Vinci’s notes. Yes, you can really touch the models to see how they work. The examples of his inventions were created by translating his ancient Florentine writing style to reproduce full-scale models of his clocks, cranes, submarines and helicopters. Most models were made by translating da Vinci’s scientific journals. “In the drawings, he left certain things out. It was sort of a poor man’s patent,” Zaller says. “He would leave out a part or put a piece in the wrong direction. We’re just interpreting his notes to decipher what that meant.”
While you can look inside a tank to see how the gears work, you can’t fire the cannons. Accompanying videos show simulations of how the tank would operate. Other videos animate how his vision for flight would have worked. Another machine, the Archimedes screw, shows how you can move water uphill. “Da Vinci never built those machines,” Zaller says. “We were able to work with people who interpreted those drawings and made a machine. When you can physically do something, you have a better understanding of it. … You’re not just looking at a drawing next to a physical model but understanding how the movements work.”
Gabi wears Saint Laurent silk gown, Aurélie Bidermann earrings and Manolo Blahnik heels, all available at Barneys New York in The Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian & The Palazzo
Hair and makeup by Sarah Barker for MAC Cosmetics, Styling by Nicole Chandler, Model: Gabi G./TNG Models
Also on hand are more than 20 of his works of art, presented in actual size. At the Louvre in Paris, the Mona Lisa on display is behind glass with a simple inscription next to it with the artwork’s name, da Vinci’s name, his date of birth and death and the words “oil on poplar.” While Imagine doesn’t have the real Mona Lisa, their representation includes background on the painting, how long da Vinci took to create it (16 years) and more. “Museums expect you to know everything else,” Zaller says. “(But often) you’re coming to the museum to learn about it.”
“The Last Supper fresco is on a wall at a church. The actual size makes a huge impression on you. It’s as close as anyone will get to it in scaled size,” Zaller says, noting that the real art that hangs on the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy, measures 28.33 feet by 15 feet.
Other works on display include St. John the Baptist, Portrait of a Young Man and even works attributed to da Vinci but not proven to be his art. Da Vinci’s sketches and notes sit next to the 13 1/2-inch by 10 inch of the Vitruvian Man. “I always thought the original was 6 feet tall,” Zaller says.
Even the golden ratio, also known as the pleasing rectangle, makes an appearance at the end of the exhibit. Da Vinci used it on many of his paintings, including the table dimensions, walls and backgrounds in The Last Supper as well as the Vitruvian Man and the Mona Lisa. Modern day logos as well as buildings such as Notre Dame, the pyramids of Giza and the Duomo of Milan show how the ratio is used everywhere. “Pepsi and the Venetian logos even use it,” Zaller says.
While the Imagine Exhibitions team was creating the exhibit at The Venetian, they discovered that Rem Koolhaas, who originally designed the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum that formerly was housed in that location, used the golden ratio in each of the rooms in the 6,700-square-foot space. “Every one of the rooms is exactly one of those rectangles. Even the three steel walls that move have that ratio. Now we need to make the graphics for the tickets that ratio,” Zaller says.
Throughout the exhibit, guests will be surprised not only by what they get to touch and see but also the range of work from da Vinci that covered everything from how cities were built to music.
“We assume the visitor coming in doesn’t know anything, but we have to appeal to the scholar (too),” Zaller says. “This is another form of entertainment that has an educational undertone. Hopefully people will leave knowing more.”
The Venetian, 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Sun.-Thurs., 9:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri.-Sat., last admission is one hour prior to closing, $27.50 adults, $22.50 seniors, military, students and Nevada residents, children under 12 free with paying adult, $20.50 additional children. 702.414.4000
