Rockstar of the Renaissance
Leonardo Da Vinci: 500 years of genius
Musicians and myths are inextricably linked. There is Robert Johnson’s pact with the devil, Led Zeppelin doing the nasty with the groupie and a mud shark, “Paul-is-dead” clues popping out of “Sgt. Pepper’s” songs, Keef snorting the ashes of his deceased father, Freddie Mercury throwing a party with fire-eaters, dwarves and strippers, among other delicious rumors revolving around sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Most of these stories are trailed by the adverb “allegedly.” Some of them have been forensically proven as true (majority of which involved Ozzy Osbourne).
The same goes for Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci, whose areas of interest included “invention, drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, paleontology, and cartography.” The hounds of hearsay followed him all his life (and beyond): that he himself was the model for the “Mona Lisa,” that he used the same model for Jesus and Judas in “The Last Supper,” that he faked the Shroud of Turin, that he dissected more cadavers than doctors during his time.
“Da Vinci is one of the most interesting, most mysterious figures we have throughout history,” says Alessandro Milani, general manager of the Philippine-Italian Association. He goes on to tell the story of how Leonardo’s father asked the son to repair a broken cartwheel and instead the boy wonder painted a lifelike face of Medusa.
The Louvre in Paris recently opened a long-awaited exhibition featuring 160 of Da Vinci’s paintings and drawings, some of which are on loan from Queen Elizabeth II as well as Bill and Melinda Gates. (A must-see attraction is an immersive Mona Lisa virtual reality project called “Beyond the Glass,” which opens on Feb. 24, 2020.)
In Manila, a series of cultural and artistic activities will be presented from Nov. 13 to 21 as part of “Leonardo in Manila,” which highlights the relevance of Da Vinci’s achievements in our contemporary world.
A play titled Being Leonardo da Vinci, An Impossible Interview by renowned Italian director and actor Massimiliano Finazzer Flory will be staged on Nov. 21, 7 p.m. at the Little Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). The event is held in cooperation with the Philippine-Italian Association, the Italian Embassy in the Philippines, and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, Inc. with the support of Oman Air, Rustan’s, Hotel Jen Manila by Shangri-La, East West Bank.
The play also features Filipino actor, director and writer Carlito “Lito” Casaje.
Through the format of an “impossible interview,” Finazzer Flory “physically” becomes Leonardo. Dressed in period costumes and wearing makeup that reconstructs Da Vinci’s face, he recites original texts written by Leonardo himself, among which is the famous “Trattato di pittura” (Painting Treaties). Finazzer Flory’s Leonardo answers questions about his childhood, his civil and military activities, and how to become a good painter (bono pittore), and about the relationship between “Painting and Science,” “Painting and Sculpture,” “Painting and Music.” He comments on “The Last Supper” and the figures of the apostles, replies to his enemies’ attacks, prophesies man’s flying, and finally offers maxims and aphorisms to live by in our times. The play has toured the US, Russia, Japan, France, Italy and Switzerland, among other countries.
Likewise, a film version of Being Leonardo da Vinci, An Impossible Interview will be screened and a master class will be held on Nov. 20, 2 p.m., at the CCP Dream Theater. The master class will deal with the topic of “inter-disciplinarity” through the conjugation of art and science, memory and imagination, tradition and technology, theater and cinema.
Leonardo would have loved the cinema, says Milani, because of its merging of different fields such as acting, editing, cinematography, special effects, etc.
The core of the programmed activities revolves around the work of Flory who, since 2011 has been investigating the life of Leonardo and the relevance of his genius to contemporary generations. The versatile and interdisciplinary works of Leonardo encouraged Flory to render his investigations in different artistic forms —from theater to cinema.
One of the presenters of “Leonardo in Manila” is the Philippine-Italian Association (PIA) headed by Zenaida “Nedy” Tantoco. She says the aim of PIA is to foster the intellectual exchange between Italy and the Philippines in the fields of culture, art, music and, especially, language. “I became interested in the organization because my father, Ambassador Bienvenido ‘Benny’ Tantoco, was one of its first presidents. Aside from PIA having a charity component all run by Italian missionaries, we support all the cultural activities of Italy.” And Leonardo is one of the poster boys of Italian culture.
Other events in celebration of Leonardo da Vinci’s 500th death anniversary include: an introduction to the secrets of Leonardo’s “The Last Supper” by James Freney on Nov. 13 at Italian restaurant Caruso, in Bel Air, Makati; a cook-off on Nov. 5, 6 and 14 at the LPU (Lyceum of the Philippines University Manila) Culinary Institute; a film presentation on Nov. 19 at Cinematheque Center Manila; a dinner and lecture on “Leonardo da Vinci, Wine and Cuisine” by chef Salvatore Arria and sommelier Luca Galli on Nov. 20 at Italian restaurant Ponte di Rialto, at Venice Piazza mall, Taguig City.
The reason for the diversity of the activities is that Leonardo himself had such diverse obsessions: from culture to cuisine, from frying pans to flying machines. The man was a multitasker.
“Leonardo owned a vineyard in Milan,” concludes Milani. Da Vinci even tried his hand at food styling. “He sculpted vegetables.”
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For information, email Philippine-Italian Association via philippineitalianassociation@gmail.com, call (+632)8-815-1310, or visit @leonardoinmanila on Facebook. Interested parties for the master class may email the CCP Arts Education Department via ccp.artist.training@gmail.com or call (+632)8-832-1125 local 1604.
