Modern visionary helps put da Vinci on show
Remarkable coming together of three great Leonardo treasures.
The chief executive of the British Library Roly Keating on the Leonardo exhibition.
NEARLY 500 years after his death, he still remains among the most revered figures of the Renaissance period.
And now notes and drawings from Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks are being brought together in the UK for the first time at the British Library, which will mark 500 years since the death of the artist and “legendary genius”, who passed away on May 2, 1519.
The notebooks will include part of Codex Leicester, which details da Vinci’s scientific observations and was bought by Microsoft founder Bill Gates in 1994 for $30.8m, who is loaning the works to the library.
The chief executive of the British Library, Roly Keating, said the exhibition would feature a “remarkable coming together of
three great Leonardo treasures” and “extraordinary documents”. Leonardo da Vinci: A Mind In
Motion will run from June 7 to September 8 next year.
Another exhibition will show that just as Leonardo was ahead of his time, people were “sharing” and “showing off ” about their friendship groups long before the dawn of social media. The British Library is preparing to display its collection of Alba Amoricum – friendship albums that are hundreds of years old.
Much like Facebook or Instagram today, newly-acquired friends would show “who you know and where you’ve been” in the albums. Friendship Before
Facebook will be displayed at the Library’s Treasures Gallery from February 26 to May 12 next year.
And if you have ever wondered how the ancient Chinese kept in touch, Writing: Making Your
Mark follows writing’s evolution from wax tablets to digital publishing and hieroglyphs to emojis from next April.