From Staff Reports 

The art exhibit, “Leonardo da Vinci – 500 Years of Genius,” opened July 14 and will continue through Feb. 20, 2023, in a seven-month run at Amherst at Deerpark on the grounds of Biltmore Estate in Asheville.

“The third installment of Biltmore’s Legends of Art & Innovation exhibition series, Leonardo da Vinci explains and draws together all aspects of da Vinci’s life and times, his key achievements and how his talents, thoughts, innovations and inventions are still just as relevant today, some 500 years later,” a July 7 Biltmore press release stated.

“This immersive experience includes replicas of da Vinci’s large-scale machine inventions, many of which are interactive, and detailed reproductions of his masterpiece paintings, codices and drawings. 

‘Twenty models of the machines that da Vinci designed are featured, each model constructed directly from the pages of da Vinci’s codices. Artisans who did the work used materials readily available in the 15th century, ncluding wood, cotton, brass, iron, canvas and cord.

“Da Vinci’s achievements in painting are also examined in this exhibition. Of his well-known masterpieces, guests will learn about creation of the “Mona Lisa,” “The Last Supper” and the “Vitruvian Man,” one of da Vinci’s most-famous and recognizable illustrations.

“I think that George Vanderbilt would certainly have been aware of Leonardo da Vinci’s works and legacy –  likely more so than those living during da Vinci’s time,” Meghan Forest, archives and curatorial assistant at Biltmore, said in the release. “He kept a travel diary during an 1880 trip to Italy in which he discusses his viewing of da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” 

More information about the exhibit and tickets are available at https://www.biltmore.com/things-to-do/events/leonardo-da-vinci/