Italian polymath, painter, inventor and astounding genius Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most celebrated artists and scientists of all time, yet seeing his works is typically out of reach for the average Aussie. Well, all that’s about to change thanks to the Lume Melbourne’s new immersive experience opening on March 16.
Leonardo da Vinci – 500 Years of Genius will feature massive projections of some of the world’s most famous works of art, including the ‘Mona Lisa’ and ‘The Last Supper’. These four-storey high projections showcase da Vinci’s breathtaking Renaissance paintings in a way that’s much more accessible than a trip to the Louvre.
Alongside da Vinci’s visually stunning artworks, this exhibition will also focus on his excellence as an inventor with ideas far beyond his era. His pioneering work in architecture and engineering laid the foundation for the technology we enjoy today. That’s why alongside his art, the exhibition will also feature groundbreaking inventions from his notebooks recreated to scale by Italian artisans, including flying machine concepts that predate human flight by more than 400 years.
As if that wasn’t exciting enough, for the first time in history, original pages of da Vinci’s sketches and writings will touch down in Australia. The Codex Atlanticus is a 500-year-old collection of Leonardo’s innermost workings, previously displayed in the likes of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Louvre. Now, Melburnians and visitors alike will be able to examine these precious pages with their very own eyes. In fact, these pages are so priceless that they can only come out for three months at a time, before returning to Milan to recover in the dark for three years.
The immersive experience will also feature pioneering research more than 15 years in the making by French optical engineer Pascal Cotte, a consultant to the Louvre. He has scanned the 'Mona Lisa' with his 240,000,000 pixel multispectral camera, peeling back the layers of her storied smile to reveal 25 previously hidden details about the famous work.
“The results shatter many myths and alter our vision of Leonardo's masterpiece forever,” says Cotte. His exact 360-degree replica of the framed painting is the only one of its kind in the world.
While you're there, don't forget to check out the cutting-edge AI and VR interactive technologies that breathe life into da Vinci's iconic work, as well as grabbing a bite at the exquisite Renaissance-themed culinary experience in Caffè Medici.
Once the exhibition is open, sessions start from 10am seven days a week, most days of the year. Tickets are $39.90 for concession holders, $49.90 for adults, $29.90 for kids and $129.90 for families. Children under four years of age are free and tickets are available here.
