The exhibition shows Da Vinci’s fascination with bio-engineering, as well as his appetite for destruction
Leonardo da Vinci: The Mechanics of Genius launches this week at the Science Museum, London, letting visitors investigate both the facts and the misconceptions that surround this great Renaissance genius.
As much an engineer as he was an artist, many of his creations had lain unbuilt in sketch form, until being digitally and physically recreated – much of which with the help of Dassault Systèmes.
This exhibition features 39 historical models of Leonardo’s inventions including flying machines, diving equipment and weapons, and 13 Interactive games and 10 multimedia installations showing how they worked, alongside some modern examples of robotics, aviation and materials technology – bio-inspired, much like Leonardo’s creations from the 1500s.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Kca2QhvL5aU
The exhibition allows visitors to explore the designs up close, from bird inspired flying contraptions, to a deadly array of war machines – all equally fascinating – designed in Renaissance-era Florence, a place and time that makes Silicon Valley seem pedestrian today.
While the physical models were built in 1952 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of da Vinci’s birth, a team from Dassault Systèmes collaborated with Universcience on the digital models for the touring exhibition, even opening up the challenge of reanimating Da Vinci’s designs to its 3DSwym community.
The result was the 14 interactive 3D reconstitutions of Leonardo’s inventions rendered at the heart of the exhibition.
The exhibition is open till 4 September. Book tickets here.
