Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci go on display at Ulster Museum

Q Newsdesk

A new exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci’s greatest drawings has opened at the Ulster Museum in Belfast.

'Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing'  is part of a nation-wide event, marking 500 years since the Renaissance master’s death.

It total, twelve museums and galleries across the UK are opening similar exhibitions to celebrate his work.

A number of the selected pieces have never been on permanent display, to protect them from light exposure and damage.

The drawings reflect Leonardo’s expansive knowledge of architecture, anatomy, cartography and botany.

Works chosen for display in Belfast mirror Ulster’s heritage in manufacturing and engineering such as his commissioned maps of Florence, Italy and studies of the Italian Trivulzio monument.

The exhibition also includes examples of all the drawing materials he used, including pen and ink, red and black chalks, watercolour and metalpoint. 

We've been to the Ulster Museum to see what people think:

Martin Clayton, Head of Prints and Drawings, Royal Collection Trust, said,

“We are delighted to work with the Ulster Museum, as one of Royal Collection Trust’s 12 partner venues in the Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing nationwide event. In 2019, in collaboration with our partners we will be giving the widest-ever audience across the UK the opportunity to see the work of this extraordinary artist. 

The exhibition at the Ulster Museum demonstrates the extraordinarily wide range of Leonardo’s work throughout his lifetime, and is a thrilling opportunity for audiences to engage directly with one of the greatest minds in history. His drawings were central to his work in every field, both his artistic projects and his scientific investigations: they allowed Leonardo to work out his ideas on paper, and can be viewed as his private laboratory.

In May 2019, the drawings exhibited at Royal Collection Trust's partner venues will be brought together to form part of an exhibition of over 200 sheets at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, the largest exhibition of Leonardo's work in over 65 years. 

A selection of 80 drawings will then travel to The Queen's Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse in November 2019, the largest group of Leonardo's works ever shown in Scotland.

The Belfast exhibition will run between the 1st of February and the 6th of May 2019.