Leonardo Drawings at McManus Gallery

The other major exhibition we went to yesterday was an exhibition of ten original  Leonardo drawings. The information there said that the reason these small drawings have survived for 5oo years is that Leonardo used Italian paper that was made from old cloth fibers and not ( as is the case today) from wood pulp.
 
There is no way I could describe these drawings, they are part of the royal collection and very rarely seen by the public. This is the only venue in Scotland to host this exhibition and it was well, well worth the visit. 

The drawings themselves are truly exquisite, when looking at a reproduction you don’t appreciate how tiny these drawings are and what depth of detail they contain. The drawing of the head is the one used to promote the exhibition. In life, that one is  no bigger than an average sized notebook ( A5 size), but the detail is so perfect it has been enlarged to bill board size and even at that size, possibly a magnification of 100, it remains a beautiful detailed, delicate, drawing. 

From the local newspaper ‘The Courier’

The 10 drawings, which have been cared for by the Royal Collection since 1690, are to travel round the UK as part of the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations.

The director of the Royal Collection, Jonathan Marsden, was at the McManus on Monday to talk about the event and says it will bring Dundee to international attention.

He is ''truly excited'' at the prospect of one of the world's most important art collections coming to Tayside, and is keen to get local people, from school age to pensioners, involved.
 

''This matches perfectly our mission at the Royal Collection which is to promote as wide an audience as we possible can,'' said Mr Marsden.

The drawings depict each area of Da Vinci's life and reflect his extraordinary talents.

Mr Marsden said: ''You can see through the drawings his thought process and this is particularly true in working out how the human body works in his anatomical drawings, his engineering drawings and his botanical studies.

''I don't think you have to be an art gallery-goer to find these completely compelling.''

Beyond a handful of paintings, most of Leonardo's great projects were never completed and, according to Martin Clayton, senior curator of prints and drawings at the Royal Collection: ''We can often grasp the true nature of Leonardo's intentions only through his drawings.''

Mr Clayton told The Courier: ''We are very fortunate to hold this exhibition in a venue such as the McManus. It is a very special collection.

''These drawings were carried out by Leonardo himself and you can see his hand at work and understand what he was doing.''


http://www.mcmanus.co.uk/content/exhibitions/ten-drawings-leonardo-da-vinci-diamond-jubilee-celebration-royal-collection

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/19458/dundee-urged-to-make-most-of-leonardo-da-vinci-exhibition-exposure.html

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/article/18985/dundee-expecting-major-interest-in-leonardo-da-vinci-exhibition.html