Leonardo da Vinci: Ten Drawings from the Royal Collection

In February 2016, 10 of the finest drawings by Leonardo da Vinci in the Royal Collection will travel to the Laing Art Gallery to be shown in this new exhibition. The works have been selected to show the extraordinary scope of the artist's interests, from painting and sculpture to engineering, zoology, botany, mapmaking and anatomy, as well as his use of different media – pen and ink, red and black chalks, watercolour and metalpoint.

There are almost 600 drawings by Leonardo da Vinci in the Royal Collection. They were originally bound into a single album, which was probably acquired in the 17th century by Charles II . Beyond the 20 or so surviving paintings by Leonardo, the artist's drawings are the main source of our knowledge of this extraordinary Renaissance man and his many activities. Leonardo's drawings are the richest, most wide-ranging, most technically brilliant, and most endlessly fascinating of any artist.

Please note this exhibition may be busy at times, particularly lunchtimes. Quieter times are 3pm to 5pm.

School visits will be restricted to 10.30am to 12 noon and 1.30pm to 3pm.

Further Education groups, please book to avoid clashes. Email info@laingartgallery.org.uk.

Read more about the exhibition in our blog plus our new blog on the methods Leonardo used. You can also watch a 4 minute film of Royal Collection conservator Alan Donnithorne demonstrating Leonardo's drawing materials.

Sponsored by the Port of Tyne

Supported by the Friends of the Laing Art Gallery

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Image: The expressions of fury in horses, a lion and a man c.1504-5 (detail) Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II