Da Vinci's genius on display at Swiss exhibition

	INTERACTIVE GALLERY

October 11, 2000
Web posted at: 11:23 a.m. EDT (1523 GMT)

ZURICH, Switzerland (Reuters) -- It's not every day that you get to see how a genius thinks. But a unique exhibition in Switzerland offers some insight into a mind regarded as one of the world's greatest.

Leonardo da Vinci changed our lives, and this exhibition at the Swiss National Museum highlights the work of not only the Renaissance artist (1452-1519) but also the scientist and the inventor of the parachute, the car and the submarine.

"Leonardo was a genius," organizer Bernard Schuele said. "He is a person who touched all areas of knowledge and science of his time, and in all these areas he excelled. He played a really important role."

The show features about 250 objects, including several models assembled from da Vinci's sketches, prints, paintings, drawings and sculptures.

On display for the first time is the Geigy-Hagenbach Sheet of architectural and geometrical studies from the University of Basel (Switzerland), taken from da Vinci's most important collection of notes and drawings -- the Codex Atlanticus.

VIDEO CNN's Denise Dillon reviews the inventive drawings of Renaissance artist and designer Leonardo da Vinci Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     RESOURCES   ART MUSEUM SITES: ..international ..u.s. cities: a-h ..u.s. cities: i-q ..u.s. cities: r-z

Several hundred years ago, the Italian genius already saw a world with cars, tanks, multilevel bridges and flying machines.

In 1485 he gave a precise description and sketch of what later became known as the parachute. Although most aerodynamic experts thought that such a parachute would fail, it was built and successfully flown by British skydiver Adrian Nicholas roughly 500 years later.

His parachute models are on display along with studies for other flying machines, including a first idea for the helicopter.

"Today when we see an inventor whose inventions don't work, he abandons," Schuele said. "Leonardo never abandoned. He believed that in the future someone would invent something to complete his ideas, his inventions. I think that is a lesson to learn from."

Visitors can also see reconstructions of da Vinci's weapons and defense systems, along with his designs for bridges and clocks.

The scientist and artist met when da Vinci became interested in the workings of the human body. He produced the first realistic drawings and descriptions of human anatomy after dissecting a human body.

Leonardo da Vinci died in 1519, but his achievements remain present in our everyday lives.

The exhibition, which began its world tour in 1995, runs through January 7 in Zurich. It's the last stop, and the last chance to view one of the most complete work collections of the Renaissance man, who left us with the enigmatic smile of the Mona Lisa.

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