10 – Leonardo da Vinci Museum
10 – Leonardo da Vinci Museum, exhibits his universal genius through interactive machines, multimedia videos and his most important paintings.
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (b. 15th April 1452 – d. 2nd May 1519), was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance; who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor and architect.
The Museum, is an integral part of the monumental complex of San Rocco, housed in the building of the Scoletta, in front of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco; next to the monumental Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari.
- Full size digital recreations of his famous paintings
- Copies of his inventions.
- Cost: €8,00 (adults), €5,00 (reduced)
- Suggested duration: 1 hour
- Vaporetto stop: San Toma
Experience da Vinci’s most famous works up close and personal; as you have never seen before! Using interactive videos, infographics and hands-on laboratories; you’ll be able to see how his models and machines work first-hand.
Although the Leonardo da Vinci Museum may be small, it’s still an excellent homage to one of Italy’s finest intellectuals. No need to visit the Louvre in Paris; you can look at a copy of the Mona Lisa in Venice!
Leonardo da Vinci Museum – BIOGRAPHY
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (b. 15th April 1452 – d. 2nd May 1519), was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor and architect.
While his fame initially rested on his achievements as a painter, he also became known for his notebooks, in which he made drawings and notes on a variety of subjects; including anatomy, astronomy, botany, cartography, painting and paleontology.
Leonardo’s genius, epitomised the Renaissance humanist ideal and his collective works, compose a contribution to later generations of artists; matched only by that of his younger contemporary, Michelangelo.
Born out of wedlock, to a successful notary and a lower-class woman in, or near the town of Vinci; he was educated in Florence, by the Italian painter and sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio. He began his career in the city, but then spent much time in the service of Ludovico Sforza in Milan.
Later, he worked in Florence and Milan again, as well as briefly in Rome; all while attracting a large following of imitators and students. Upon the invitation of Francis I, he spent his last three years in France; where he died in 1519. Since his death, there has not been a time where his achievements, diverse interests, personal life and empirical thinking, have failed to incite interest and admiration; making his name arise frequently in our in culture.
Leonardo is among the greatest painters in the history of art and is often credited as the founder of the High Renaissance. Despite having many lost works and having less than 25 attributed major works (including numerous unfinished works); he created some of the most influential paintings in Western art.
His magnum opus, the “Mona Lisa”, is his best known work and often regarded as the world’s most famous painting. “The Last Supper”, is the most reproduced religious painting of all time and his “Vitruvian Man” drawing; is also regarded as a cultural icon.
In 2017, Salvator Mundi, attributed in whole or part to Leonardo, was sold at auction for US$450.3 million; setting a new record for the most expensive painting ever sold at public auction.
Revered for his technological ingenuity, he conceptualised flying machines, a type of armoured fighting vehicle, concentrated solar power, an adding machine and the double shull.
Relatively few of his designs, were constructed or even feasible during his lifetime; as the modern scientific approaches to metallurgy and engineering, were only in their infancy during the Renaissance. Some of his smaller inventions, however, entered the world of manufacturing unheralded; such as an automated bobbin winder and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire.
He also made substantial discoveries in anatomy, civil engineering, hydrodynamics, geology, optics and tribology; but he did not publish his findings and they had little to no direct influence on subsequent science.
TOP 25 MUSEUMS. Select your museum and click on the link below:
1 – Palazzo Ducale (The Doge’s Palace)
2 – Peggy Guggenheim Collection
6 – Scuola Grande di San Rocco
7 – San Servolo Insa*e Asylum Museum
8 – Palazzo Grassi (Francois Pinault Collection)
10 – Leonardo da Vinci Museum (not linked)
11 – Fondazione Querini Stampalia
24 – Museo Provinciale di Torcello
25 – Museo Archeologico Nazionale
LINKS (internal – external)
Official Website of Leonardo da Vinci Museum Venice
Home – What’s on – Leonardo – Opening – Map – Gallery – Tour – Contacts – Privacy
Bookshop. History, technology and art books for both adults and children, in various languages, gadgets and objects.
Scale models of Leonardo’s machines and inventions, such as the arched bridge, the geodetic dome and the beautiful flying machine.
Gadgets, pens, pencils and much more to remember Leonardo da Vinci and time spent in Venice.
To widen your experience and enjoyment before visiting, please see my comprehensive and illustrated posts below:
Scuole Grandi of Venice – Introduction
Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
San Polo District and Main Attractions
10 – Leonardo da Vinci Museum 10 – Leonardo da Vinci Museum 10 – Leonardo da Vinci Museum 10 – Leonardo da Vinci Museum