“Leonardo Da Vinci – I volti di un genio” on display in Catania
28 July - 24 October 2019
Palazzo Valle will host audiovisual installations, realistic reconstructions and manuscripts, from 28 July to 24 November
From 28 July to 24 November the prestigious salons of the Palazzo Valle in Catania will host “Leonardo Da Vinci – The faces of a genius“.
Audiovisual installations, realistic reconstructions, mixed and augmented reality applications, infographics, replicas of Leonardo’s manuscripts and surprising technological applications will accompany visitors to discover the genius. “Leonardo Da Vinci – The faces of a genius” is a project by Christian Gálvez, produced by Sicilia Musei, Italia Museo, Iniciativas Y Exposiciones, with the patronage of the Italian Embassy Madrid and the collaboration of Leonardo DNA Project.
“The story of Leonardo – writes the curator of the project Christian Gálvez – is actually an odyssey, the tragedy of a man tired of painting, famous in Italy for not having finished the commissions and rejected for his critical and investigative temperament. A complex personality, a figure that does not bow to any dogma and, at the same time, capable of going against its ideals in search of gratitude and recognition that never arrived. This is the story I want to tell. I know that it is not easy to detach that patina of genius that we have deposited on his figure through the centuries and, nevertheless, his figure of mortal man does not cease to be attractive and powerful, of flesh and bone, with successes and errors, victories and failures. A man who lived and survived. A man. The faces of genius do not cease to be an eternal homage to its aspects. Even for the features that made Leonardo an upper or lower individual, but certainly a special spirit. Through this exhibition you will see that in the Leonardo universe there is always something more than what our eyes see ”.
The exhibition itinerary is divided into five thematic areas.
Il Rinascimento di Leonardo.
This aspiration and the desire to know the appearance of those we admire, together with the music of the violinist Ara Malikian, will guide us through a journey through the life and work of genius, hidden behind the portraits of those who accompanied him . Those fixed faces in time allow us to dream about his virtues or miseries. It is logical to accept the idea that they show their true appearance. Even the doubt.
A universal heritage. Francesco Melzi, responsible for collecting thousands of annotated pages and sketches left by Leonardo at his death, accompanies us on a tour of Codes and manuscripts. Some reproductions are exhibited, along with physical and virtual reconstructions of some of the inventions designed by the master, many of which would have been reinvented centuries later.
L’ultima cena.
The last supper is one of the most important pictorial works in history. Visitors will find a space dedicated exclusively to the painting, with an audiovisual installation whose music has been selected by James Rhodes: sensitivity and emotion for a room in which to discover the story that generates the mastery of this creation.
Lo specchio dell’anima.
In this evocative space, visitors will find much of Leonardo’s work on the proportions of the human being that he ended up using in many of his creations, including his representation of the Vitruvian Man, alongside the vast and meticulous study of anatomy that he made for artistic and scientific purposes. At the back of the room, visitors can take part in an amazing augmented reality installation.
Leonardo da Vinci: faccia a faccia.
In the last room, Leonardo da Vinci is waiting for us. Who he was and who he was not. Is it possible that hundreds of thousands of people have imagined the greatness of his genius in the face of a stranger who otherwise, without that significant mistake, would be little more than anyone? The possible faces of Leonardo accompany us in this space. At the end the Tavola Lucana is revealed.
The exhibition will be open from Monday to Friday from 10.00 to 20.00 (last ticket at 19.00) and Saturday and Sunday from 10.00 to 22.00 (last ticket at 21.00).