Leonardo Da Vinci - a legacy of greatness

On Thursday, we paid a visit to the Da Vinci exhibition now on at the Singapore Science Centre. This is an international travelling exhibition that celebrates the genius of Leonardo Da Vinci.

What's totally amazing about this guy is that he seemed to be extraordinarily gifted in so many fields. Here's a quick summary of his achievements in the various fields:

1. Artist: Most people know him for the uber famous Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. The exhibition has a large area dedicated to the Mona Lisa, which thanks to French Engineer Pascal Cotte, you can now see a close-to-perfect reproduction of the painting in actual size. And you get to see it up close which is better than seeing the original at the Louvre in Paris cos that's behind thick glass and in a cordoned off area. Plus you have to fight off the throngs of people jostling for a closer look.
   


2. Scientist: Da Vinci believed that science was the basis for everything, including art. His notes showed that he was fascinated with just about anything from flight to walking on water, from making pulleys to lift loads and ball bearings to reduce friction.



3. Engineer and Inventor: Da Vinci was way ahead of his time. He conceived items that would become reality only centuries later, such as the helicopter, parachute, bridge, camera, submarine, even the robot! All painstakingly jotted down in notebooks.



4. Strategist: Even though he was a pacifist, he was sought after as a military strategist and created many instruments that were used for war, such as the tank, the steam cannon, the bullet and moveable bridge.



5. 5. Biologist: In a day where dissecting human corpses was disallowed, he managed to dissect some 30 bodies and come up with fantastically accurate, intricate drawings of the human body, from the skeleton and muscle to internal organs. The form and style of his drawings would eventually be followed in the medical bible, Grey's Anatomy. His famous drawing, The Vitruvian Man (featured in the banner above), is a study of the perfect proportions of the human body.

If that's not enough, he was also an architect, adept musician, sculptor, philosopher... phew! Forget the sensational rubbish of the Da Vinci Code, this man is the real deal.

I highly recommend visiting the exhibition. It's not very big but it's eye-opening and educational. The exhibition is on until 16 August. Tickets go for $16 (adult) and $11 (child under 16) but there's a family package of $45 for 2 adults + 2 children.

That night when Andre was saying his prayers, he said "Thank you God for a good day today. We went to see the Da Vinci exhibition. I learned a lot about Da Vinci... even though I don't know him." Sounds like it made an impression!