A special presentation of Leonardo da Vinci: Painter At The Court Of Milan was shown at the Belltower Theaters in Ft. Myers Thursday night. This was a once in a lifetime exhibition of the works of da Vinci at the UK National Gallery. This show was sold out in London, and due to the fragility of the paintings, cannot tour. The program provided a walk-through of the landmark exhibition and commentary about featured pieces. To date, this was the most complete display of Leonardo's surviving paintings ever held.
Leonardo di Ser Piero da Vinci was born in 1452 , the illegitimate son of a lawyer and a peasant woman. He is considered one of the greatest painters of all time and the most diversely talented person ever to have lived. Leonardo is renowned primarily as a painter, although he only produced 15 works, probably because of his constant and frequently disastrous experimentation with new techniques, and his chronic procrastination. His Mona Lisa is the most well known, and the Last Supper, which was painted on a wall, is the most widely reproduced artwork of all time. His drawing of the Vitruvian Man has become a cultural icon.
Leonardo left behind over 13,000 pages of notes and drawings, but he never published any, believing they had no direct influence on science.
Court records show 24 year old Leonardo and three other men were charged with sodomy, and it was believed that Leonardo was homosexual. He died in France in 1519 supposedly with his head held by the King, though this is mostly considered legend rather than fact.
The drawing above is Self Portrait In Red Chalk.
