London to stage 'unprecedented' Leonardo da Vinci exhibition
July 28, 2010London's National Gallery is planning what it calls an "unprecedented" Leonardo da Vinci exhibition for next year featuring works by the artist never seen before in Britain.
The gallery says it will be the most complete display of da Vinci's rare surviving paintings ever held and will encompass the artist's time at Duke Ludovico Sforza's Milan Court during the 1480s and 1490s - a period in which he attempted to perfect his drawing and painting of the human form, plants and animals.
The National Gallery in central London is borrowing works from museums in Paris, Rome and the "Madonna Litta," also known as the "Virgin and Child," from the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.
The exhibition is inspired by a recently restored work by da Vinci called "The Virgin On The Rocks," which is currently on view at the gallery.
The exhibition will open in November next year and run for just under three months.
Author: Olly Barratt
Editor: Kate Bowen