UK Edition
National Gallery to launch 'immersive Leonardo Da Vinci experience' as they unveil hidden sketch and fingerprints
The National Gallery has commissioned the production team behind the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony and blockbuster pop culture exhibitions to bring to life a Leonardo Da Vinci painting, in a new “immersive” exhibition.
The show, which opens in November, will see the ground floor of the gallery “completely transformed” into an “immersive exploration of [Leonardo’s] genius as a painter”, focusing on one work: The Virgin of the Rocks.
The painting has been undergoing significant scientific investigation, uncovering the original, hidden sketches of the artist as well as mystery handprints left in the paint.
Visitors to the show will be able to see images of the “abandoned composition” below the finished paint work, thanks to macro X-ray fluorescence (MA-XRF) maps and infrared and hyperspectral imaging.
External company 59 Productions, which has previously worked on the video design of the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games and museum installations such as the V&A’s record-breaking David Bowie Is, will bring the exhibition to life for visitors by recreating moving images of the chapel the painting would originally have been hung in.
The gallery promises "multi-sensory experiences" spanning four rooms, including projections showing Leonardo’s use of “light and shadow” and a conservator’s studio showing how modern experts can look beneath the painting’s surface.
Speaking of the newly-uncovered original sketched version of The Virgin of the Rocks, a spokesman for the gallery said: "In the abandoned composition both figures are positioned higher up, while the angel, facing out, is looking down on the Infant Christ with what appears to be a much tighter embrace.
“These new images were found because the drawings were made in a material that contained some zinc, so it could be seen in the macro x-ray fluorescence (MA-XRF) maps showing where this chemical element was present, and also through new infrared and hyperspectral imaging.
“Why Leonardo abandoned this first composition still remains a mystery.”
Of other discoveries, he added: “Handprints resulting from patting down the priming on the panel to create an even layer of more or less uniform thickness can also be seen, probably the work of an assistant - but perhaps even by Leonardo himself.”
Dr Gabriele Finaldi, National Gallery director, said: "This exhibition represents a fascinating new venture for the National Gallery, combining the most recent technical research on The Virgin Of The Rocks with an immersive, enveloping experience, giving visitors the opportunity to explore Leonardo da Vinci's creative process in making this masterpiece."
Leonardo: Experience A Masterpiece opens on November 9, and runs until January.