Da Vinci is someone I have long admired. I use him as an example of the fact that humans have endless capabilities. Sure Da Vinci was a genius but I think we hide the genius in all of us by compartmentalizing our lives. Da Vinci was classically trained. He was an artist, inventor, architect, stagecrafter, mathematician, doctor of anatomy and writer. He could not be placed in one of our modern day boxes we have created that seem to only entrap our creativity and bind our souls. I do believe many of us could be Da Vinci's.
It was with eager anticipation that I walked with my boys to Science World in order to view the traveling Da Vinci exhibit. Once inside we spent hours playing the hundreds, maybe thousands of science games. We puzzled over hand puzzles. We tested a lever to see if we could lift a rhino. We created dams on rivers. We predicted the outcome of games. We measured our jump, limberness and quick response. In other words we played for at least four hours.
Finally we came to the Da Vinci exhibit. I tried to explain to my boys who he was and why this would be so fascinating. The exhibit is based on his notebooks which were used to recreate his inventions utilizing only materials that would have been available to him during his lifetime. One feature is huge poster-size enlargements of his notebooks throughout. Several of the notebooks are also on display and no bigger than a 3 by 5 card.
Da Vinci was an observer of the world around him. When he wasn't inventing he was improving on the designs of others, scuba equipment was one invention where he made improvements. Always inquisitive, his quest for knowledge led him to dissect 30 cadavers over his lifetime which was illegal and had to be done in secret. He carefully drew each part of the human body and left for the generations ahead knowledge of unknown magnitude and depth. His drawings included descriptions of the functions of each internal organ.
Each invention that has been recreated for the exhibit is a masterpiece in an of itself. There are things still used in today's world that Da Vinci invented such as the coiled irrigation pipe. He invented many flying machines and confessed, "Man will fly, if not me someone else." He studied birds and copied their wings. He made several flying models incorporating large bird type wings. He invented independent suspension which is used in automobiles. A large portion of his inventions were devoted to the military. This is how he made his money. He was paid by the prince of the town where he lived and they most wanted military machines.
Da Vinci invented a bridges, ladders to climb castle walls, a tower with bridge that rolled up to a castle wall spanning the moat and allowed for attack and guns that fired multiple rounds. He lived in a time of war and therefore made his money contributing to war but all the while he explored his other interests.
The end of the exhibit was dedicated to his art particularly the Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. The Last Supper was projected digitally on the wall as a commentator explained how many times it had been "restored" poorly so many times that only with recent technology were they able to find the original work. Another restoration is currently underway. Perhaps I will see it on my next trip to Italy. They had a replica Mona Lisa. Once again with the Mona Lisa they showed how technology has allowed them to determine the actual colors he used as well as shown them the veil she was wearing. Da Vinci died without finishing the Mona Lisa. It would be interesting to know what he would have added.
Artist, inventor, scientist, writer; Da Vinci was a true Renaissance man. The key to his genius was that he questioned everything around him. In modern times we "know" so much that we often forget to question. What would we be led to discover if we only questioned everything?
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