UK to host 12 simultaneous Leonardo da Vinci exhibitions in 2019

The Royal Collection Trust has announced that 144 drawings by Leonardo da Vinci from the Royal Collection will be displayed across 12 simultaneous exhibitions in the UK in February 2019, marking the 500th anniversary of the master's death. Titled "A Life in a Drawing," each venue will showcase 12 works selected to cover Leonardo's multidisciplinary interests, including painting, sculpture, architecture, music, anatomy, engineering, cartography, geology, and botany. The participating cities are Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Southampton, and Sunderland, with a twelfth location to be announced. From May 2019, over 200 sheets will be exhibited at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace in London, constituting the largest Leonardo exhibition in 65 years. In November 2019, 80 drawings will move to The Queen's Gallery at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Scotland, marking the largest display of Leonardo's works there. In Italy, celebrations began with the permanent display of drawings from the Biblioteca Reale di Torino, including the famous self-portrait, within the Musei Reali, as announced by director Enrica Pagella during the exhibition "Intorno a Leonardo. Disegni italiani del Rinascimento." Pagella stated that for 2019, they are planning permanent enhancement of their 13 drawings plus the Codex on the Flight of Birds.