Thursday, August 29, 2019

Leonardo da Vinci: Drawings as Visual Knowledge

The Royal Drawing School sent out an email this morning which focuses on the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci.
Inspired by Autumn Term course, Life Drawing and Anatomy: Mechanics of the Human Form, we have drawn from the fields of science and art to bring together articles, art works, exhibitions and lectures that will open the mind to the world of anatomical drawing...
It included a link to a Lecture - Martin Kemp - Leonardo da Vinci: Drawings as Visual Knowledge - which the art historian Martin Kemp gave at the Royal Drawing School in 2015. This is available to listen to - for free - via Soundcloud. It's an hour and 24 minutes long and it won't surprise you to know I've not listened to it all as yet!

Click the link below to enjoy the lecture. Unfortunately you'll have to imagine the drawings or try and identify them online while you listen
He never draws solutions..... Drawing for him is an act of exploration, of invention of analysis all simultaneously. 


In addition there is a Lecture in October

Exhibiting Leonardo da Vinci across the UK


Lecture by Martin Clayton, Head of Prints and Drawings for the Royal Collection Trust
Venue: Royal Drawing School Shoreditch,
Date: Wednesday 9th October,
Start time: 6.45pm
https://www.royaldrawingschool.org/lectures-events/exhibiting-leonardo-da-vinci-across-uk/

This talk will discuss the purpose of Leonardo’s drawings, and the experience of curating a nationwide exhibition of these drawings for a mass audience.

About Martin Clayton 

  • Head of Prints and Drawings for the Royal Collection Trust. 
  • Studied Natural Sciences and the History of Art at Cambridge
  • Has worked in the Print Room at Windsor Castle since 1990. 
  • He has curated many exhibitions on the drawings in the Royal Collection, including the works of Poussin, Canaletto, Raphael, Castiglione, and especially those of Leonardo da Vinci.

Studies of the Foetus in the Womb.

Exhibitions re. Anatomy


Exhibition: Leonardo da Vinci: A Life in Drawing 


Venue: Queen's Gallery
Date: Finishes 13 October 2019
https://www.rct.uk/collection/themes/exhibitions/leonardo-da-vinci-a-life-in-drawing/the-queens-gallery-buckingham
Marking the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, the exhibition brings together more than 200 of the Renaissance master's greatest drawings in the Royal Collection, forming the largest exhibition of Leonardo's work in over 65 years. 

The Science Museum: Anatomy and Pathology Departmental Collection


These objects chart how our understanding of human anatomy has shifted over time. They include an important series of anatomical models, tools used to dissect and study the dead, and preserved human specimens including a large tattoo collection.

The London Pavilion, Piccadilly Circus: BodyWorlds


BodyWorlds, curated by creative director Dr. Angelina Whalley, explores the reproductive, nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, locomotive and metabolic systems in more detail than has ever previously been possible, offering an unparalleled insight into the human body and how it works.