Dan Brown fans expecting shock conspiracies at the V&A's new exhibition may be disappointed - the curator of Leonardo Da Vinci: Experience, Experiment And Design has steered clear of anything sensationalist.

Even Da Vinci's back-to-front script, interpreted by some as a secret code, is explained as nothing more than a way for the left-hander to write in comfort.

Instead, this selection of 60 drawings suggests a much greater mystery: how one man could have been simultaneously a painter, engineer, architect, anatomist, inventor, surveyor and even stage designer within a single lifetime.

The works on paper range from studies of the heart described by a leading heart surgeon as "stunningly accurate" to maps of a diverted canal or designs for human flight.

As in the best-selling book, the clues lie in Da Vinci's output. Moving from sketch to floorplan to map to anatomy, they hint at a common thread in his approach.

Always taking his inspiration from nature, Da Vinci saw connections everywhere - between domed vaults and pomegranates; spinal muscles and the ropes of a ship's mast - and joined the dots through visual analogy.

The V&A has taken that process one stage further in a series of animations projected on to the wall, offering distraction for those waiting to see the exhibits.

Together with audio-visual guides featuring film clips, an MRI scan and an interactive game, it's a clever way of combating the mismatch between very small drawings and a mass audience. Even if there isn't any code-breaking.