The National Gallery are set to hold what promises to be the most popular exhibition ever seen in the UK. The exceptional exhibition will feature several of Leonardo da Vinci’s rare works that the London gallery have managed to secure through a series of international loans. Some of the pieces will be travelling from galleries situated in Italy and others from France; many of which have never been seen in the UK before. By miraculously making seven Da Vinci loans a possibility, The National Gallery will feature the most complete series of da Vinci works ever seen.
Leonardo da Vinci, Madonna Litta. c 1490-91.
Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan is the official title of the exhibition. It is to be held from the 9th November 2011 through to the 5th February 2012. This showing doesn’t concentrate of Leonardo as a draughtsman or an inventor. Instead it concentrates on Leonardo solely as a painter; delving into the skills and techniques used by this fascinating artist, and his pursuit for perfection seen in his representations of the human form. The exhibition particularly concentrates on the works created by Da Vinci through the late 1480’s and 1490’s, as this was the time period da Vinci spent as a Court Painter to Milan’s ruler, Duke Lodovico Sforza.
Leonardo da Vinci, St. Jerome. c 1480.
In order to make the three month exhibition as enjoyable as possible, The National Gallery intend to limit visitor numbers. To combat the possibility of over-crowding, the gallery will only allow 180 visitors to enter each half hour, instead of the usual 230 that is in accordance with the galleries’ Health and Safety regulations. However, knowing that tickets with be in high demand, the gallery will aim to avoid disappointment by introducing later opening times of a Friday and Saturday evening.
Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper. c 1498.
The final, and perhaps most exciting part of the exhibition, is the full-scale copy of da Vinci’s world famous ‘ The Last Supper’. This marvellous piece that will be on loan from the Royal academy will be seen alongside the preliminary drawings of this piece created by the very hands of Leonardo. Alongside this, visitors will get to discover how this grand-scale painting was intricately designed and accomplished by the fascinating man and artist that was Leonardo da Vinci
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