Events around Renaissance art plentiful in 2019, as the year, celebrates the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci. There are exhibitions and events taking place at the world’s major museums to celebrate his life. Here are some other popular events around Renaissance art.
There is an entire programme of events related to Leonardo da Vinci, in Milan, the city he called home for almost two decades. An exhibition in the Sala delle Asse at the Castello Sforzesco is a unique opportunity to admire the masterpiece of decoration on the vaulted ceiling with an intricate depiction of plant elements, currently being cleaned and brought back to its original colours. There are also four exhibitions at the Biblioteca Ambrosiana related to the Codex Atlanticus, the largest set of drawings and writings by Leonardo.
There is an entire programme of events related to Leonardo da Vinci, in Milan, the city he called home for almost two decades. An exhibition in the Sala delle Asse at the Castello Sforzesco is a unique opportunity to admire the masterpiece of decoration on the vaulted ceiling with an intricate depiction of plant elements, currently being cleaned and brought back to its original colours. There are also four exhibitions at the Biblioteca Ambrosiana related to the Codex Atlanticus, the largest set of drawings and writings by Leonardo.
Museums and galleries across the UK will be celebrating Leonardo da Vinci’s work, with special exhibitions. In February 2019, the Royal Collection Trust opened Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing, which was a nationwide exhibition of drawings visiting museums and galleries in 12 cities, each displaying 12 of Leonardo’s drawings. The collection highlights da Vinci’s varied interests from engineering to botany. The full collection will be shown with more than 50 additional drawings at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, until 13 October 2019. The exhibition ends at the Queen’s Gallery, Holyroodhouse Palace, Edinburgh from 22 November until 15 March 2020.
This exhibition examines the beginnings of the Florentine Renaissance in the 1420s, with Fra Angelico’s (1395-1455) painted religious subjects taking centre stage. Paintings include The Virgin of the Pomegranate (circa 1426), recently acquired by The Prado for EUR18m. It was painted during a period in Fra Angelico’s life when he was experimenting with light and space. The Pomegranate has a double symbolism — in the hands of the Madonna it refers to her chastity, while by touching it, the Christ child prefigures his own death and resurrection.