 An exhibition of drawings, sketches and objects by the great Leonardo da Vinci entitled Leonardo’s Codes and Machines opened in Belgrade on June 23rd, 2008, in the Niš Art Foundation Gallery (NAF). The exhibition displaying 65 objects presenting the prototypes of helicopters, paragliders, automobiles, cannons, catapults, armored vehicles, bicycles, diving equipment, roll bearers is the largest ever organised outside Italy. The works were then produced by the best craftsmen and scientists after original Leonardo’s drawings, made from materials and technology from his time. Of Leonardo’s ideas, the only idea conceived so far is the "water walker". This spectacular exhibition was first organised in Niš and attracted more than 30,000 visitors. Its realisation was made possible thanks to the persistence and efforts undertaken by Radovan-Lale Đurić, a Serbian painter who has lived in New York for 30 years.
A painter, creator, scientist and visionary, Leonardo da Vinci lived from 1452 to 1519 in Italy, in an age teeming with gifted individuals in nearly all fields of arts and science. The author of the monograph for the exhibition Leonardo’s Codes and Machines, Jovan Ćirilov, reminds us that the contemporaries of the "most curious man in history" were Uccello, Lippi, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Cellini… but Machiavelli and Colombo as well. History remembers the versatile genius Leonardo primarily as a painter, though only 17 of his paintings are preserved. Among them probably the most famous are the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.
- Every drawing of his bears the mark of genius. He simply couldn’t in practice be anything other than Leonardo da Vinci, a Renaissance man with multiple talents, - says Ćirilov in the Monograph. – The same hand painted the smile of La Gioconda and the hydraulic press. Everything he created or imagined to be created originated from his study of nature and his immediate surroundings. He applied science in painting and sculpture and in science he was a poet, a visionary and a dreamer. He wrote his ideas on numerous drawings every day. And these drawings are a combination both of imagination and practical use, regardless if he created weapons to wage wars or the water supply system. In his sketchbook he wrote details on every drawing in his characteristic left-hand backward handwriting, which is read in a mirror. Leonardo lived in the naive belief that in this way his ideas would be protected from theft. However, what actually protected them was the impotence of his time to realise his visionary ideas, - says Ćirilov.
The organiser and donator of this exhibition, the Niš Art Foundation, is a non-profit organisation whose aim is to advance and affirm young Serbian creators and to improve the cultural and artistic life in our country. Its largest project is the competition "Youth in the 21st century" intended for fine artists up to 35 years of age in disciplines that include painting, sculpture, graphic art and drawing. During three years, several thousand fine artists from Serbia have taken part in this competition. In the future, NAF plans to expand its initiative and support young people in other fields of creativity as well.
The exhibition Leonardo’s Codes and Machines will be open until August 1st, but depending on public interest, the exhibition may be prolonged. | 
