High Museum - Da Vinci Exhibit

Last Sunday I took advantage of a day off to visit Atlanta's High Museum of Art specifically to see their limited time exhibition, "Leonardo da Vinci - Hand of the Genius", because, well it's da Vinci!

Back in May of 2007, I had the opportunity to visit da Vinci's final home in Amboise, France with Cindy and my mother-in-law. Le Clos Lucé is now a museum and, like High Museum, does not allow video or photography inside the house. It is difficult to describe the feeling of walking through the hallways, bedroom, study and work areas that this master also walked through. To see his work, sketches, engineering drawings, sculptures, paintings, machines and works in progress is to constantly marvel at the man many have called a genius and who, for all intents and purposes, personifies the Renaissance Man. Here is a photo of the exterior (one of many) that I took during that visit.



So of course, when I arrived in Atlanta and read that the High Museum was hosting an exhibition of some of da Vinci's work, well I HAD to go.

I walked about a half mile from my hotel to the MARTA station and within 20 minutes found myself in the arts district of Atlanta. The High (as Atlantans refer to it) is an impressive building with an obviously designed aesthetic sense to make the viewing of works of art as pleasurable as it can be, both inside and out.

Before even entering the museum you can see a larger-than-life statue of a horse based on sketches made by da Vinci. Inside, you find that originally he had planned for the horse to be rearing back on its hind legs, but concluded the cost of supporting the weight of such a large size statue at that angle was prohibitive.

Even on a Sunday afternoon, the exhibit hall was crowded with people who had the same idea that I did. The exhibit features approximately 50 works, including some 20 sketches that sculptures and unfinished works were based on. Some of these have never been on display in the United States previously. I can also say that most of the exhibit that I saw was not part of exhibits I saw at the Louvre or at Le Clos Lucé, and not surprisingly since many of them were labeled as being on loan from the Queen of England.

The exhibit highlights 3 aspects of da Vinci; his work as a sculptor, his work as a student of masters such as his mentor Andrea del Verrocchio and Donatello, and his influence as a mentor himself on students such as Rubens and Rustici. If you're in Atlanta and you have an opportunity to visit the exhibit, I would urge you to do so. Below is a photo montage of the exterior of the High Museum.

"High Museum, Atlanta-Da Vinci Exhibit"

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Myriad Musings

Last night or early this morning I had a dream that my mother, who is in an assisted-living facility, was living on her own and had bought an alligator with a bum leg as a pet. She said it was a safe pet because with its bum leg it couldn't move fast enough to catch anyone.

I have NO idea from which strange recesses of my mind that dream might have originated. It was almost as outlandish as my dream involving Mariah Carey a few nights ago. But not nearly as fun.


I think one of my co-workers was ticked today that I didn't take her hint that she wanted to go to lunch together so she could talk about office politics, but I really prefer (and in this case, needed) to have some time to myself and NOT have business on my mind. I'm such a social hermit anyway.

Wow, just found out today that a lot of my friends in other departments are being sent home on Saturday.


Thinking about going to the High Museum here in Atlanta to see the Da Vinci Exhibition on Sunday. But since it's my only day off this week, I may wait and see if we get 2 days off next week. I love just about anything to do with Da Vinci. This exhibit is scheduled to be there through February of next year so as far as I know I have plenty of time.


Today a woman walked into the men's room of my office building while I was in the stall. I could see her through the opening between the door and the wall and was about to cough as a hint she was in the wrong room. But just before I did she spotted the urinals on the wall and beat a hasty retreat out the door.

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Andrew Wyeth, R.I.P.

Andrew Wyeth passed away quietly in his sleep 2 days ago on January 16, 2009 at the age of 91. Wyeth was a legendary American painter who was categorized as a "realist" style of painter, often painting from scenes of his life in Pennsylvania and Maine.

Probably his most famous work is "Christina's World", a sparse yet riveting depiction. I have a framed copy hanging in our bedroom (a gift from my mother-in-law when she discovered I liked the work) and I plan to place it in my office when we move to Sheepback Mountain. Sometimes I just stand in front of it or lie on the bed and stare at it. Even knowing the story behind it, I sometimes get lost in thought and create my own stories about it; about the house, the barn, the field and the girl. But overall, the painting always leaves me with a feeling of contentment and pleasure.



Our sympathies go out to his family.

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