Upon the most casual glance through this lovely and visually stimulating
online exhibit, one might think that an equally appropriate title for such a
venture might well be "da Vinci Comes Alive!" Designed to accompany an in
situ exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, this multimedia
tribute to da Vinci's work includes a section where visitors can look over
the Forster Codices in all of their exquisite detail. All told, they contain
five notebooks filled with drawings and illustrations, all of which were
eventually bequeathed to the Museum by John Forster in the late 19th
century. Another feature on the site is the "Canal Challenge", which lets
users attempt to design a canal inspired by the work of da Vinci, and most
importantly, to see if it works properly. The site is rounded out by a
selection of electronic cards, the opportunity to win a trip to Italy, and a
timeline of his life. [KMG - review by Max Grinnell]
Adapted from an exhibition shown at the Baltimore Museum of Art in 2002 and
2003, the online version of Painted Prints explores the use of color in
Renaissance prints. The idea for the exhibition began in 1996, when curator
Susan Dackerman first saw a 16th century Dutch print The Triumph of
Patience, by Dirck Volkertsz Coornhert. The research project that led to the
2002-2003 exhibition is featured as a section of the Web site, where
visitors can read about Dackerman's investigations, and see the results of
conservator Thomas Primeau's analysis of the pigments used in the colored
prints as well. Primeau used X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) to
identify the pigments used to color a painted impression of Albrecht Dürer's
print Christ Presented to the People from The Large Passion. On the Web site
there is an interactive example where rolling over the image brings up
details of the pigments and their chemical makeup. In addition, there are
sections about the makers of the prints, their purpose, lesson plans for
teachers, and a gallery of a dozen painted prints. [DS -review by Debra Shapiro]
Copyright Scout Report 2006 (shared with permission).
