Leonardo da Vinci Exhibit at MLK Library!! “features 12 original Leonardo da Vinci drawings from his Codex Atlanticus”

From an email:

“On Wednesday, June 21, the exhibition “Imagining the Future – Leonardo da Vinci: In the Mind of an Italian Genius” will open at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. Visitors will be able to view 12 original da Vinci sketches and notes, never before seen in the United States.

About the Exhibit

“Imagining the Future – Leonardo da Vinci: In the Mind of an Italian Genius” is an exhibit that features 12 original Leonardo da Vinci drawings from his Codex Atlanticus. Presented in partnership with Confundustria and Biblioteca Ambrosiana, the exhibit at the DC Public Library is the first time that the Codex Atlanticus has been displayed in the U.S.

The Codex Atlanticus is a collection of Leonardo da Vinci’s notes, drawings and diagrams from 1478 to 1519. They are traveling to the US from Milan, Italy The exhibit provides an intimate look at one of history’s most brilliant thinkers. Visitors will gain a deeper understanding of the origins of technologies we often take for granted and appreciate the mind that anticipated them centuries ago.

Where: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G. Street, NW, Washington, DC

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 we often take for granted and appreciate the remarkable mind that anticipated them centuries ago.

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.

Imagining the Future will be open during regular Library hours and is free to the public. The exhibit closes on August 20, 2023. Due to the high level of interest in Imagining the Future, visitors may encounter a wait to enter the exhibit.

About the Collection
The 12 original drawings, currently housed at Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan, Italy, are part of the Codex Atlanticus, a collection of 1119 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.”