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Description: Sixty drawings from British collections, many of which have not been displayed before, together with models and computer animations.
Phone: 0207942 2000
Website: www.vam.ac.uk
Email: vanda@vam.ac.uk
Trains: Tube: South Kensington 
, Tube / Bus: 14, 74, 414, C1 
Extra info: Food, Party Hire, Pub, Telephones
A reconstruction of Leonardo Da Vinci's glider forms the centrepiece of the exhibition
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.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
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I've always been captivated by the drawings and designs of Leonardo Da Vinci. The fantastic creations and complete leaps in theoretical physics that he must have made to come to them are so mpressive that they seem unreal, even in the light of todays modern world. This exhibition is great, I took the family and they loved it too, great for kids of all ages. Lots to keep everyone busy and entertained, well done the V&A!
- Izzy, N6
