A throng of Ottawa residents packed inside a Carleton lecture hall to celebrate Leonardo da Vinci and his revered “scientific religion.”
Da Vinci was a “universal genius,” said art history professor Randi Klebanoff, presenting his artwork and its innate expression of God to the crowd gathered at St. Patrick’s building on Sept. 18.
Students and faculty from various departments were in attendance as Klebanoff explained why the world remains enamoured by da Vinci today, 500 years after his death. The lecture is one in a series of events at Carleton commemorating his life’s work.
Da Vinci, who continues to “muscle out” shelf space in Italian libraries, remains relevant because of his “refusal to take on authority,” said Klebanoff.
He was a painter during the Renaissance, and worked on drawings that analyzed human anatomy. Da Vinci saw the human body as being God’s work, and interpreted everything natural as God’s grace and creation, Klebanoff explained.
Klebanoff told the Charlatan she didn’t hesitate when deciding to focus on da Vinci’s theological works for her lecture.
But, she said she “trembled” at the thought of just how much da Vinci expressed God in all of his work. “It’s staggering,” she added.
Using the Mona Lisa as an example, Klebanoff explained how the woman in the painting can be seen “watching over” the viewer from every angle, much like God does.
First-year humanities student Lily-Anne Villemaire said she enjoyed the lecture because of Klebanoff’s delivery.
“The presentation would’ve been completely different if it had been given by anyone else,” she said.
Villemaire said she’d seen some of the paintings shown several hundred times before, but the lecture changed the way she viewed them.
“There is more hidden behind the canvas,” said fourth-year art history student Miffy Jiang, who added the lecture helped her learn more than just the academic side of da Vinci and his work.
“It’s a great opportunity for the general public to know more about him,” Jiang said.
Multiple Carleton faculties are coming together for a series of events named Cinquecento, which directly translates to 500, to commemorate da Vinci’s legacy. Events will take place in September as part of a year-long celebration.
—With files from Temur Durrani
Feature image by Tim Austen
