The Idea of Beauty: April 15–June 14, 2015, Museum of Fine Arts Boston; I caught a train up to Boston to see this
once-in-a-lifetime exhibition that showcased 30 of Leonardo's drawings and manuscripts, underscoring his
advanced understanding of anatomy and his meticulous portrayal of the natural world. Of note was the rarely displayed Codex on the Flight of Birds, a
notebook brimming with his depictions and concepts of birds in motion aimed at realizing a flying machine, a visionary idea far ahead of its time,
even though the invention itself was never fully developed. The preservation of these drawings, dating back 500 years to the High Renaissance,
necessitated the galleries at the museum to be maintained under cool, dry, and subdued lighting conditions during the exhibition, making it
challenging to capture them on a digital camera.
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Head of a young
woman, Silverpoint and white highlights on prepared paper, 1483, Biblioteca Reale, Turin, Italy.
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Bust of a young
woman with a cap, 1511, red chalk on paper, Biblioteca Reale, Musei Reali, Turin, Italy.
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Teste di Giovinetta,
red chalk on paper, 1495, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Female Head with
Veil perhaps a study for the Virgin, Maestro Della Pala Sforzesca, a Milanese pupil of Leonardo, 1485-1490, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence,
Italy.
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Drapery Study for
a Standing Figure Seen from the Front, 1478-80, tempera and white chalk on canvas, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Posterazzi View
Of An Old Man Seated, Giclee Print: 1490, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Head of an Old
Man, 1515, Red chalk on paper, attributed to Cesare da Sesto a member of Leonardo’s circle in Milan, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Heads of an old
man and a youth, The young man is probably Salai Leonardo's male lover, Red chalk on paper, 1500, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Master of the Pala
Sforzesca, profile of an old man, 1495, silver stiff on paper, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Study of human
hand, Warrior with helmet, and eagle head, chalk on paper, 1515, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.
Michelangelo, Kneeling male figure; chalk on
paper, 1510, Casa Buonarroti, Florence, Italy.
Michelangelo, Study of a male nude for the figure
of Naason’s Wife in the Sistine Chapel, chalk on paper, 1511, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.
Michelangelo, study for the Sistine Chapel, chalk
on paper, 1510, Georgian National Museum, Georgia.
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Head of a Young Woman, about 1500–10
Red chalk with white chalk on prepared paper. Turin, Biblioteca Reale.
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), “Profile of an
old man”, chalk on paper, 1505, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519) self-portrait, discovered within his manuscript Codex on the Flight of Birds in 2009
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), drawing, A Young Woman (1495–1500),
Red chalk with white chalk on prepared paper. Turin, Biblioteca Reale.
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Studies of the Hind Limbs of the Horse, chalk on paper, 1505, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy.
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Codex on the
Flight of Birds, with hidden portrait of Leonardo, ink on paper, 1505, Royal Library of Turin, Italy
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Codex on the
Flight of Birds, ink on paper, 1505, 38 pages examines the flight of birds and proposes mechanisms for flight by machines, Royal Library of
Turin, Italy.
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Codex on the
Flight of Birds, ink on paper, 1505, Royal Library of Turin, Italy
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Codex on the
Flight of Birds, ink on paper, 1505, Royal Library of Turin, Italy
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Codex on the
Flight of Birds, ink on paper, 1505, Royal Library of Turin, Italy
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Codex on the
Flight of Birds, ink on paper, 1505, Royal Library of Turin, Italy
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Codex on the
Flight of Birds, ink on paper, 1505, Royal Library of Turin, Italy
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Codex on the
Flight of Birds, ink on paper, 1505, Royal Library of Turin, Italy
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Codex on the
Flight of Birds, ink on paper, 1505, Royal Library of Turin, Italy
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Codex on the
Flight of Birds, ink on paper, 1505, Royal Library of Turin, Italy
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Codex on the
Flight of Birds, ink on paper, 1505, Royal Library of Turin, Italy
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Codex on the
Flight of Birds, ink on paper, 1505, Royal Library of Turin, Italy
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Codex on the
Flight of Birds, ink on paper, 1505, Royal Library of Turin, Italy
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Codex on the
Flight of Birds, ink on paper, 1505, Royal Library of Turin, Italy
Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Codex on the
Flight of Birds, ink on paper, 1505, Royal Library of Turin, Italy
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