Curated by Enrica Pagella, Francesco Paolo Di Teodoro, Paola Salvi

An exhibition with over fifty works that tells the research between science and art of Leonardo da Vinci through the instrument of drawing. The itinerary revolves around the nucleus of Leonardo's autographed drawings kept in the Royal Library of Turin, which includes thirteen drawings purchased by King Carlo Alberto in 1840, and the famous Code on the flight of birds, donated in 1893 by Teodoro Sabachnikoff to King Umberto I.
An extraordinary set of works dating from approximately 1480 to 1515, different in subject and inspiration, but capable of documenting Leonardo's activity from youth to full maturity.

Some drawings are related to known and celebrated works of the master: the nudes for the Battle of Anghiari, the horses for the Sforza and Trivulzio monuments, the extraordinary study for the angel of the Virgin of the Rocks, known as the Face of a girl. In addition to the unicum, the famous Portrait of an old man, considered Leonardo's self-portrait. To restore the meaning, the origin and the peculiarity of Leonardo's work, the genesis of the Turin drawings is investigated in the relationship with similar experiences of other artists, through the exhibition of works by great masters, from the Florentine Pollaiolo to the Lombard Bramante and Boltraffio, up to Michelangelo and Raphael. The itinerary is divided into seven sections dedicated to as many possible interpretations of the master's work and the experiences conducted by all the artists of the Renaissance: the legacy of ancient art; the exploration of the anatomy and proportions of the human body; the comparison between art and poetry; self-portrait; the study of faces and the challenge of representing emotions. Finally, studies on flight, architecture and a hitherto unexplored theme: "Leonardo and Piedmont", which focuses on the citations of places present in Leonardo's writings and which has, as a catalyst drawing, the sheet of the Codex Atlanticus with the Naviglio of Ivrea. On the occasion of the exhibition, the University of Turin proposes an interdisciplinary review inspired by the universality of Leonardo entitled “Pioneers. Explorers of the unknown from Leonardo to the present day ". A public program that, starting from the drawings on display, explores the themes and at the same time is configured as a platform for exchange between the public and the protagonists of the research, creating an unprecedented space for participation, dialogue and experimentation around the exhibition.

The exhibition is organized in collaboration with the Piedmont Region, the City of Turin, the University of Turin, the Polytechnic of Turin and is included among the initiatives financed by the Committee for the Celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci at the Ministry of Heritage and cultural activities.