Leonardo da Vinci, Annunciation, 1472-73, Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Su concessione del Ministero per i Beni e le Attivita Cuulturali

It’s hard to imagine a single painting would be
the focus of a blockbuster art exhibition. But when you combine a pregnant-looking Virgin Mary with an Archangel named Gabriel announcing a world-changing message from God—painted by a genius like no other—you’re sure to get a crowd pleaser.

Now attracting about 10,000 visitors a day to the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno is Leonardo da Vinci’s breathtaking Annunciation. Showing through June 17, it’s part of an exhibit called “The Mind of Leonardo: The Universal Genius at Work” that includes a richly descriptive and educational compendium of the “universal man’s” prolific works.

Painted by da Vinci between 1472-73 and normally housed in Florence’s Uffizi Gallery, the Annunciation came to Japan amid well-publicized drama. Italy’s Culture Minister, Francesco Rutelli, the country’s powerful culture gatekeeper, pushed forward the painting’s loan despite written protests from 300 Italian politicians and art experts, including the director of the Uffizi. One senator actually chained himself to the gates of the museum.

However upsetting it may be for Italians, the loan is a coup for the Japanese—as was the case when, in 1972, the Tokyo National Museum persuaded The Louvre to let it borrow the Mona Lisa. Rutelli has, in effect, offered the painting to the Japanese public as a symbolic centerpiece for a series of events promoting Italian culture in Japan, called Primavera Italiana 2007, which is being held between March and June.

To avoid the long lines in the main gallery where the Annunciation is displayed, visitors should try to stop by within two hours of closing time. But even if you can’t, the wait is worth it. Obviously well-cared for, the painting looks fresh, and the images are clear and strong. Da Vinci painted the Annunciation in his early 20s, and adopted some of the themes in his later works. Mary, wrapped in a blue robe representing heaven, with one hand gently raised and the other on the open Book of Isaiah, looks calm upon hearing Gabriel’s news that she will conceive the Christ child. The lifelike, studied detailing in the flora and wings of the archangel reveal da Vinci’s fascination with science and engineering, in this case botany and flight. His own cryptic shorthand, seen on the Book of Isaiah, and a bewitching three-dimensional appearance throughout the painting keep viewers pondering the how’s and why’s of this restless and profound artist.

Many of the answers are revealed in the accompanying exhibition. It is here that da Vinci’s mind is virtually dissected. His explorations in painting, anatomy, engineering, architecture, mathematics, natural history, geology and philosophy are revealed in six sections of models and explanatory media. “Motion: The Universal Agent” contains analysis of The Last Supper, while “The Science of Painting” uses a copy of da Vinci’s famous drawing of a man within a circle called to explain human proportions. It is said that the artist considered painting to be supreme among the sciences because the eye—the fundamental instrument of the painter—connects directly with the mind and into the soul.

The exhibition is a great place for children, students and anyone interested in not only the workings of da Vinci’s mind, but also the workings of life.

Tokyo National Museum, until June 17. See exhibition listings (Ueno) for details.

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