Da Vinci Drawings – Never Before Seen in US – Now On View at MLK Library

DC is getting an extremely rare — and never before offered in the United States — opportunity to view autograph drawings selected from Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex dating to the 1400s. And all they have to do is go to the library.

On view at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in downtown Washington, DC, the Italian business association Confindustria is promoting the exhibit, “Imagining the future. Leonardo da Vinci: in the mind of an Italian genius.”

It will be on view until August 20, 2023 during regular library hours and is free to the public.

The 12 original drawings on display “represent the cornerstones of Italian entrepreneurship,” according to a release, including art, knowledge, science, and research.  

Alongside the exhibit, the Library is hosting an interactive exhibition — “Leonardo’s Lab” — with the opportunity for youth (6-14 years) to participate in activities like constructing structures with wooden slats, exploring aerodynamics with homemade ‘ornithopters’ and testing their skills at reverse writing on mounted chalkboards.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library is located at 901 G St. NW Washington, D.C., near the Metro Center and Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro stations.