Da Vinci: Renaissance Man

If you want to get a whiff of life in Industrial Revolution Manchester, you’d best head to MOSI (the Museum of Science & Industry). It is built on the site of the world’s oldest surviving passenger railway station, with five of the original listed buildings still standing. Converted into a museum in the early 1980s, this extensive railway complex was, according to the Pevsner Architectural Guide, ‘an inland expression of the Liverpool Docks, and the volume of traffic both in terms of passengers and goods had never been tackled on such a scale before.’

The significance of MOSI can’t be underestimated: it was here, on 15 September 1830, that some 700 passengers and 50,000 onlookers gathered to witness the first ever run on the newly laid Manchester to Liverpool tracks. Although the day wasn’t without its dramas (including the death of William Huskisson, President of the Board of Trade, who slipped and fell into the path of the oncoming train), it did, as the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company hoped, change British industrial travel forever. Much of MOSI’s displays continue to shed light on both the railway and Manchester’s role in the Industrial Revolution, while trainspotters can enjoy a short journey via steam train on part of the original tracks.

Permanent collections aside, one of the star attractions at MOSI this spring is an exhibition of the life and work of Leonardo Da Vinci – as well as numerous Da Vinci inventions. The artist, as everyone knows, was not content to limit himself to any one discipline, and he was fascinated by the sciences, writing on subjects as diverse as geometry, human anatomy, philosophy and flora and fauna. He famously came up with detailed plans for a helicopter, military tank, parachute, automobile and submarine – creations that were hundreds of years ahead of their time.

This spring, these and other Da Vinci inventions have been brought to life as large-scale interactive machines, handmade by contemporary Italian artisans. Displayed at MOSI, they have been created by Grande Exhibitions, the Anthropos Foundation and Pascal Cotte as part of Da Vinci – The Genius, the most comprehensive touring exhibition ever dedicated to this remarkable artist. Ten years in the making, the exhibition includes the UK premiere of the Secrets of Mona Lisa. Here, French engineer Pascal Cotte has used a revolutionary, 240 megapixel Multi-Spectral Imaging Camera to uncover a series of hitherto unverified facts about the world’s most famous painting, such as the original (and long since faded) colours used by Da Vinci and the true identity of the woman behind the portrait. Cotte has also been able to create the world’s only 360-degree walk-around replica of the Mona Lisa, enabling visitors to see the reverse of the painting. Still not convinced? Read our exclusive interview with Da Vinci himself and find out about the tantrums behind the genius.

Da Vinci – The Genius, MOSI, Liverpool Road, Castlefield M3 4FP (0844 847 2261). Until Jun 2010. £7.50/£5/£20 (family ticket).

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