Features

Leonardo and his machines come to The Lightbox

The Lightbox is hosting one of the UK's most impressive exhibitions of the summer. For the first time ever, the gallery will be entirely given over to celebrating the genius of Leonardo da Vinci - devoting the exhibition to the life, times and inventions of this colossally talented man.

The exhibition will run from 4 August to 1 November 2009 and will focus on Leonardo's many and varied inventions. These have not been previously shown in the UK and The Lightbox is proud to be the first.

Leonardo da Vinci reached heights of scientific and artistic achievement never again equalled. The exhibition will explore in detail his relationship with technology. Between 40 and 50 full scale, half-scale and smaller interactive models of machines for flight, engineering and motion designed by Leonardo will be on view. The models have been created over a ten-year period by a team of Italian artisans working in Rome, who have collaborated with historians and academics to construct the machines based on a close study of Leonardo's notebooks and drawings utilising only materials and techniques known in Renaissance Italy.

Visitors will be able to compare the models of the machines with enlarged details of Leonardo's drawings. The Lightbox has also secured the loan of one of da Vinci's original notebooks from the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Activities around the Leonardo exhibition

The Lightbox will also be staging a series of events, lectures, schools programmes, music and film to support the exhibition, including working with Woking Town Centre Management to turn the town Italian. Italian street performers, a street market and Italian themed film evenings are all planned. An Italian garden, created with assistance from RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) Wisley, will also pay tribute to Leonardo's study of plants and display some of his intricate botanical drawings.

Workshops

Children, families and adults can enjoy hands-on fun in a programme of workshops. Created around the themes of engineering and art, participants will be able to build model gliders, flying machines and explore building structures with focus on Leonardo's Hanging Moveable Bridge. Free drawing workshops will also be held for children and adults to inspire and develop their passion for the arts.

Activity guide

Each visitor will also be given an activity guide which will be packed with facts, puzzles, activities and information. The Main Gallery will also have an activity corner focusing on the Vertruvian Man where visitors will be able to learn more of Leonardo's symbolic drawing and the Golden Ratio. There will be hands-on measuring activities to test out Leonardo's theories.

Leonardo lecture programme

For those seeking more in-depth information, there will be a varied lecture programme. Subjects will include:

a representative from the Royal Collection Windsor Castle talking about Leonardo's drawings
a lecture on The Renaissance Garden
an engineer's perspective of Leonardo's inventions
the Anthropos Association to talk about the creation of the exhibition.