Digging up Da Vinci

January 26, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
5 Comments

ABC News has published a story titled, Mona Lisa mystery: Da Vinci to be exhumed.

The story reports that Leonardo Da Vinci’s remains are to be exhumed so that scientists can attempt to establish whether or not the Mona Lisa is a disguised self-portrait.

Scientists and historians from Italy’s National Committee for Cultural Heritage have sought permission to open the artist’s tomb in France’s Loire Valley.

They hope to find his skull which they can use to reconstruct his face to discover whether his famed masterpiece, the Mona Lisa, is in fact a self-portrait in disguise.

Really? Is it that important that we need to dig up the man’s bones? Is it really necessary to spend money on satisfying the curiousity of scientists?

The identity of the woman portrayed in the Mona Lisa has been a mystery for so many years and while it would be interesting to know the truth, isn’t this just taking things too far?



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Leonardo da Vinci

May 1, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
4 Comments

LeonardoSelfPortrait.jpgLeonardo da Vinci was passionately dedicated to scientific studies. His manuscripts are full of ingenuous solutions to practical problems of his time.

The remarkable thing is that he wasn’t just limited to his own time period, he was able to imagine future possibilities such as flying machines and automation. Amazing considering that he lived over 550 years ago. His anatomy drawings are still used today.

He was a musician, artist, town planner and so much more. I’m told he also played polo. He reminds me of that kid in the class who would make you jealous because he could do anything he set his mind to do.

Historical documents reveal that he commissioned local artisans to create some of his inventions. Unfortunately none of the original machines have survived and many of his inventions were forgotten. However, the last fifty years has seen a revival of interest in the work of Leonardo da Vinci.

The Da Vinci Machines Exhibition is in Perth until the 21st of July with many of da Vinci’s machine recreated by a new breed of artisans. The exhibition is interactive, giving visitors the opportunity to get hands on with a lot of the machines.

During my radio programme on 98.5 Sonshine FM this morning I spoke to Tom Rizzo who is managing the exhibition. You can find out more about this great man and the exhibition by clicking play on the audio player at the bottom of this post.



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