Leonardo Da Vinci is renowned as the High Renaissance painter of masterpieces such as The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper but he was also a scientist, engineer and brilliant anatamonist.The Lume in Melbourne paid tribute to the master inventor in an exhibition themed Leonardo da Vinci – 500 Years of Genius.

Webuild collaborated with The Lume to present the show which featured 40 machine inventions designed by Da Vinci, on loan from the Museo Leonardo Da Vinci in Rome.The digital artistry exhibition took place in The Lume’s 3000 sq m multi sensory gallery at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre and ran from March to December 2024.

A prolific sketcher and designer, Leonardo was interested in geometry, symmetry and proportions and utilised the mathematical principles of linear perspective – parallel lines, the horizon line, and a vanishing point – to create the illusion of depth on a flat surface.

Skilled artisans studied his sketches and constructed the inventions using techniques and materials, where possible, that were available in 15th century Italy.

In the 1480’s Da Vinci began studying flight and created over 200 drawings and sketches of his theories. He observed birds and bats in flight and designed an ornithopter, a machine that generated lift though the flapping motion of its wings with the aim of it being maneuvered by a human.

A visionary ahead of his time, the artisan conceptually invented the parachute, the helicopter, an armored fighting vehicle, the use of concentrated solar power, the car and a gun, a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics and the double hull.

On display was an exact 360 degree replica of the masterpiece Mona Lisa in its actual size, and in the original colour from 1503. French Optical Engineer, Mr Pascal Cotte invented a multispectral camera and used light reflection to penetrate layers of the famous painting.

The ambience of the Renaissance was recreated in The Lume through digital projections of Da Vinci’s work and rare pages from the Codex Atlanticus. Interactive experiences such as Da Vinci’s Artist Studio and the Florence Flyover VR added depth to the immersive experience for the visitor who could also select from a curated Italian food selection.

Paintings of Da Vinci’s Renaissance contemporaries such as Giotto and Raphael also appeared in the exhibition.