Daily Times

A new virtual gallery of Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings that plunges the viewer into the Renaissance master’s creative process opens Friday at the manor in central France where he spent the last three years of his life. The 12-minute immersive experience envelops the visitor with the paintings and the sketches that preceded them, projected onto the walls and rounded ceiling of a darkened gallery at the Clos Luce in the town of Amboise. Close-ups, notably of faces and hands from masterpieces such as The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne but also of fabric folds, flora and other details, deepen the viewer’s appreciation of the artist’s virtuosity. The Last Supper is shown in its stages, starting with the background, adding the table and finally Jesus and the Apostles. The virtual masterclass also delves into Leonardo’s trademark sfumato technique – the subtle blurring of the edges of images that creates a 3D effect – and his mastery of perspective.