Inscription from 600 BC. About two inches high. At Delos, statue platform.

Events of the day:

(My pre- cruise activities, en route to Aegean...)

I had an early-ish flight from London to Athens on the 20th, and so decided to go up to London for the night of the 19th, spending the night at the airport. Travelocity had a nice room at the Sofitel, right beside my terminal, at a sensible price, so I was able to do the easy thing.

On the 19th, I availed myself of the exhibition of Leonardo's anatomical drawings at the Queen's Gallery... quite superb. (Through 7 October 2012, pre-book a timed entry ticket.) I am only sorry that I haven't been able to do these wonders justice...

The 150 surviving drawings were bound together into in a book, which survived intact and forgotten for centuries. To quote one of the placards at the exhibition: "It was not until 1900 that (the drawings and notes) were finally published and understood." We still have the "book"... but the pages were cut out of it, around 1900.

The page shown above is only about 8 inches high. The handwriting is minute, but then, "paper" (parchment, I believe) was expensive back then, wasn't it?

This next image is described by the exhibition placard as "c.1515... the only reliable image of Leonardo, drawn probably by his assistant Francesco Melzi. It shows Leonardo a few years before his death in 1519 at the age of 67."

In the evening went to the musical, "Billy Elliot" with a former colleague from years ago, with whom I'd barely been in touch... it was marvelous to re-connect over a meal before the show.

Near disaster: Heathrow Express, unlike Gatwick Express, does not run all through the night. I (just) caught the last train out to the airport. Whew.

To quote from the exhibition's web page.. sounds like hyperbole in places, but having seen the exhibition, I would say the comments are justified...

"This exhibition is the largest ever of Leonardo da Vinci's studies of the human body... Leonardo... was... a pioneer in the understanding of human anatomy. He intended to publish his ground-breaking work in a treatise on anatomy, and had he done so his discoveries would have transformed European knowledge of the subject. But on Leonardo's death in 1519 the drawings remained a mass of undigested material among his private papers and their significance was effectively lost to the world for almost 400 years. Today they are among the Royal Collection's greatest treasures."

The excellent placards and audio guide of the exhibition give you insights into the history of science, while Leonardo's incredible art delights the eye.

One more reason to visit the exhibition: To see a thumbprint from one of history's most celebrated people. (Note also from that the size of Leonardo's right to left writing... and recall also that he didn't have a modern pen or ink.)

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