December 1999
Fare of Bill
Just when you thought the “richest man in the world,” Microsoft mogul Bill Gates, owned enough “stuff,” the billionaire adds another nugget to his pot of gold. Until January 9, 2000, Gates’ newest trinket, the Codex Leicester — a notebook of scientific musings on water, the earth and the solar system by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), and the only remaining handwritten work by the artist in existence — will be on display at the Haus der Kunst. The 18-page manuscript, while a somewhat confusing miscellany of subject matter,
underscores Leonardo’s famed genius. The ideas
conveyed in the artist’s sketches and jottings concern such previously unconsidered topics as bridge construction and flood control methods, anticipating influence on modern science and technology. The exhibition, which is co-sponsored by (surprise!) Microsoft and Daimler Chrysler Services, is offset by drawings of modern art doyen Joseph Beuys (1921-1986). Beuys’ fascination with the virtuoso provided the impetus for the his 96-page Zeichnungen zu Codices Madrid, a modern response to Leonardo’s Codices Madrid. On-site computers will offer visitors an opportunity to experience “Leonardo’s thinking” interactively — through the use of Windows, of course. Der Codex Leicester im Spiegel der Gegenwart: open daily 10-22, catalogs available. <<< LV
