Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at Queen’s Gallery London

Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at Queen’s Gallery London (c) Queen's Gallery (p) GoUK.com

What

Leonardo da Vinci exhibition

When

4 May to 7 October 2012

Where

The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA

The Fanfare

The largest ever exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci’s studies of the human body is to go on display in May at the Queen’s Gallery, next to Buckingham Palace.

Leonardo was not just one of the great artists of the Renaissance: he was also a pioneer in the understanding of human anatomy.

He wanted to be ‘true to nature’ in his painting, so he researched the appearance of the physical world in all its aspects, especially the human body.

As human bodies were hard to come by, many of his earliest drawings were based on medieval treatises and his work on the bodies of animals.

Leonardo intended to publish this work in a treatise on anatomy. But when he died in 1519, his anatomical drawings remained among his private papers and their significance was effectively lost to the world for almost 400 years.

His papers were pasted into albums by his successors, and one of the albums was brought to England in the 17th century. It was probably acquired by King Charles II and has been in the Royal Collection since at least 1690.

Today the drawings are among the Royal Collection’s greatest treasures.

The Queen’s Gallery is open daily 10am–5.30pm (closed 16 Apr–3 May and 8 Oct–1 Nov), admission adults £7.50, seniors/students £6.75, under-17s £3.75, under-5s free, family ticket £18.75.

Leonardo da Vinci: Anatomist is at the gallery from 4 May to 7 October 2012.

The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA
Tel: +44 20 7766 7301
Website: www.royalcollection.org.uk
Twitter: @BritishMonarchy
Flickr: The British Monarchy’s photostream