DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Henry Ford Museum is opening "DaVinci The Exhibition," showcasing 65 full-scale reproductions of Leonardo da Vinci's inventions and designs alongside museum-quality reproductions of his famous paintings.
Watch Demetrios Sanders' video report:
The exhibition, which opens to the public Sunday and runs through May 3, offers visitors an immersive look into the mind of the Renaissance polymath who created masterpieces like The Last Supper, the Mona Lisa, and the Vitruvian Man.
"Leonardo da Vinci, we all know him. But maybe we don't really know him, right?" said Cynthia Jones, Director of Museum Experiences, Exhibition, and Engagement at The Henry Ford.
While da Vinci is widely recognized for his paintings, Jones explains he contributed much more.
"He was someone who was interested in all sorts of things and then constantly learning across this lifetime," Jones said.
This curiosity led da Vinci to create numerous inventions throughout his lifetime. His process involved careful observation and experimentation.
"He would look at birds and study birds and then think about, could I fly? And what took him further is the next step of that. Actually designing an experiment to figure out could he fly?" Jones said.
The exhibition features reproductions of da Vinci's creations and designs from his notebooks, ranging from pulley systems to diving suits to self-propelling carts. Some exhibits offer hands-on experiences for visitors.
"This was someone who was designing ahead of his time, and all around you, inside The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, you can actually see 200, 300, 400 years later, you can see what those ideas became," Jones said.
The exhibition also includes museum-quality reproductions of da Vinci's paintings, offering visitors a unique viewing experience.
"At the Louvre, you're standing many, many feet back from the Mona Lisa. Here, you're able to get inches from the Mona Lisa and also understand his artwork in the sense of how did he make that? What did he do with that? How does that include the golden ratio?" Jones said.
Jones hopes the exhibition sparks the same curiosity that drove da Vinci.
"Am I an artist? Are you an artist? Maybe not, but can we try it? Can we learn from it?" Jones said.
Visitors who have experienced the exhibition say it was eye-opening.
"I was very surprised and informed about things I didn't realize he had done," said Micki Patterson, who visited The Henry Ford Museum.
"It was very cool, it highlights the brilliance of Leonardo da Vinci," said Joshua Cummins, another visitor.
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