The real Mona Lisa comes to Manchester

Giant original colour and infra-red versions of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, as well as his visionary inventions, such as the helicopter, parachute, scuba diving suit and military tank, have been created for an exhibition which opens in November at the Museum of Science & Industry in Manchester.

Tickets are now on sale for ‘Da Vinci – The Genius’, which opens at the Museum on Saturday 14th November 2009.

The display was created by the Anthropos Foundation of Italy and Grande Exhibitions, and is the most comprehensive travelling exhibition ever created on Leonardo Da Vinci.

It’s also the UK premiere for the work of French engineer and examiner of fine art, Pascal Cotte, who invented the world’s most powerful camera. The camera uses infra-red and intense illumination to see deep underneath the Mona Lisa’s layers of restoration and capture the true colours of the original 1509 painting.

His amazing revelations will be displayed in giant high-resolution prints, including a giant infra-red of Mona Lisa. There is also a 360 degree walk-around replica of the Mona Lisa, which shows the insignias, writing and repairs on the back.

Da Vinci’s genius ideas – some of which were hundreds of years ahead of their time – are also brought to life in 65 hand-crafted, full-scale machines.

Steve Davies MBE, director of MOSI, said: “This is the first time that an exhibition of this size and scale on Leonardo Da Vinci’s inventions and techniques has been held in Britain and we’re delighted to be the host venue. It’s a chance to see Da Vinci’s inventions brought to life and to understand the enduring power of the Mona Lisa.

"Leonardo Da Vinci was a visionary scientist as well as an artist and this exhibition clearly shows the links between the two disciplines. He has an amazing following around the world, so we expect this to be a very popular exhibition, so do take your chance to book tickets early as we expect it to be a sell-out.”

‘Da Vinci – The Genius’ opens on Saturday 14th November at the Museum of Science & Industry in Castlefield, Manchester. Tickets are priced at £7.50 for adults, £5 for concessions or £20 for a family ticket. Tickets are available at http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/ or call 0844 847 2261.