Leonardo da Vinci Art Display Coming To DC Library

12 da Vinci Drawings To Be Added To Martin Luther King Jr. Library In Washington DC

Leonardo da Vinci —painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, theorist, and one of the most famous artists of the High Renaissance. On Wednesday, June 21, Washington DC will have the opportunity to admire a collection of drawings from this beloved Italian artist that has never been seen in the U.S. before. Under the curatorship of the director of the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana Monsignor Alberto Rocca, and together with Intesa Sanpaolo, ITA Airways, 24 ORE Cultura, Dolce&Gabbana, Dompé, Pirelli and Trenitalia, and the DC Public Library, Confindustria has chosen to bring to America the symbol of the Italian genius, father anticipator of innovations in the fields of art, knowledge, science, and research. Confindustria is the largest business association representing manufacturing and service companies in Italy.

The exhibition, Imagining the Future-Leonardo da Vinci: In the Mind of an Italian Genius, will open to the public at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library in downtown Washington, DC. Visitors will have the rare opportunity to view 12 original da Vinci sketches and notes not seen in the U.S. until now. It will be open during regular library hours and is free to the public. The exhibit closes on August 20, 2023.

The 12 original drawings, currently housed at Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan, Italy, are part of the Codex Atlanticus, a collection of 1,119 pages containing da Vinci's notes, drawings, and diagrams from 1478 to 1519, research on mathematics, astronomy, and optics, philosophical meditations and fables, hydraulic pumps and various tools for lifting water, and even intriguing devices for mechanical and gliding flight.

The Leonardo da Vinci exhibit is the first monographic one in the US dedicated to this universal genius. It provides an intimate look at one of history's most brilliant thinkers. Visitors will gain a deeper understanding of the origins of technologies often taken for granted and appreciate the remarkable mind that anticipated them centuries ago.

Also on June 21, the President of Confindustria, Carlo Bonomi, will open a new office in Washington – the first in the U.S. – which follows the "Confindustria in the world" project with the aim of facilitating and boosting the internationalization of Italian industry.

Alongside the exhibit, the library is hosting Leonardo’s Lab, offering visitors of all ages the opportunity to participate in activities like constructing structures with wooden slats, exploring aerodynamics with homemade ornithopters, and testing their skills at reverse writing on mounted chalkboards. More can be learned about the exhibit at https://imaginingthefuture.confindustria.it/en/ and in this media guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WWymBQTcvAL5w7Ek8R3mNx3bMoQh4MRVk2MLLhAbUuY/edit#heading=h.iak10u4q8xne