Divine Da Vinci

Have you been to the National Gallery in London yet to see the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition?  This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to enjoy the most complete display of Leonardo's work ever in an unprecedented exhibition, and the first of its kind held anywhere in the world.  It is highly unlikely that these paintings will be brought together again in this capacity, especially due to their fragility.  The exhibition ends on 5 February 2012 and all advance tickets are sold out, so if you want to have a chance of entry you need to get there early (before 8.30am) and queue.  There'll certainly be at least 200 people there before you by that time!

Gallery poster of Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani (Lady with an Ermine), ca 1490-91

Leonardo da Vinci

‘Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan’ is the first to be dedicated to his aims and techniques as a painter and the exhibition focuses on the work he produced as a court painter to Duke Lodovico Sforza in Milan in the late 1480s and 1490s. Leonardo aspired to convince viewers of the reality of what they were seeing in his quest for perfect beauty. His exquisite portraits and tenderly-created studies convey a sense of awe-inspiring mystery.

If you don't get to see it then here's an exhibition playlist to catch a little of what you're missing:

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/leonardo-playlist/

Leonardo fans and admirers queueing at 8.25 on a cold, sunny, Sunday morning...

Leaving the gallery many hours later......

The recent discovery of Leonardo da Vinci's painting 'Christ as Salvador Mundi'.... 

© 2011 Salvator Mundi, LLC. Private collection

The recent restoration of this picture has revealed many of Leonardo’s characteristic working methods. The hands, which are the best preserved, were readjusted during painting. The face, more damaged, was built up with numerous fine layers of paint. Christ holds a rock crystal orb, which represents the universe. In Leonardo’s day, rock crystal (a clear quartz) was considered a miraculous material and no modern tools could shape it, let alone fashion it into a perfect geometric solid. - National Gallery website.

The exquisite beauty of Leonardo's work cannot be fully appreciated from books or photographs.  I can't describe how amazing this exhibition was.  Don't miss it!