Since January 16, the Museum of Black Civilizations (MCN) in Dakar is hosting an exceptional exhibition. With “Opera Omnia Leonardo *”, the museum brings together 17 of the most famous works by the world-renowned Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci in a single room. The enigmatic smile of the Mona Lisa, the grandiose fresco of the Last supper, l’Annunciation, the Virgin of the Rocks or the Lady with an Ermine are thus exhibited for the first time in Senegal, but also in West Africa. “This is the only opportunity to see all these works gathered in the same museum, and in the same room. The canvases are scattered in museums all over the world, in France, Germany, Italy…, so we would have to travel around the world to see them all in normal times! “Recalls Cristina Di Giorgio, director of the Italian Institute in Dakar, co-organizer of the exhibition. As part of the many events organized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation around the world to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, the exhibition “Opera Omnia Leonardo” started in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) in January 2019 to end in Dakar after passing through five continents.
Technology at the service of art
If the exhibition is exceptional, it is also because the 17 masterpieces are reproduced digitally, thanks to HD Digital Painting technology, which allows the works to be reproduced in life size and with quality. An unprecedented visual experience thanks to a state-of-the-art system that revives colors. With this new lighting, the rendering makes it possible to particularly highlight, through its play of lights, the details of the paintings. The opportunity also to admire them very closely while usually it is impossible to approach them for safety. This time, there was no traffic jam in front of Mona Lisa, the famous Mona Lisa, unlike the Louvre, where the original painting takes pride of place in a room stormed by tourists and curious people!
“It was not possible to exhibit the real works, because they are all scattered, and some canvases like the Mona Lisa cannot be loaned to museums. Some are too big to transport and they could have been damaged, especially since the exhibition was worldwide. At the bureaucratic level, it would have been very complex because the works are expensive, not to mention the arrival of the Covid-19 ”, explains the director.
An Italo-Senegalese collaboration
Organized by RAI com, an Italian television service, which owns the rights, “Opera Omnia Leonardo” is a project carried out in collaboration between the Italian cultural institute in Dakar, the cultural section of the Italian embassy in Dakar and the MCN. A sign of the strong connection that exists between the two countries at the cultural level: the MCN and the Museum of Civilizations in Rome have signed agreements. To set up this exhibition, on the Italian side, Professor Antonio Paolucci, one of the most eminent art historians, accompanied by associate curator Ousseynou Wade on the Senegalese side. As the exhibition was technical, an artistic director, a trained engineer, also joined the team. If the overall financing was the responsibility of the Italian institutions, the MCN took care of the costs on the spot such as air conditioning, the reinforced security service.
“The presence of Leonardo da Vinci’s works in Dakar is a great opening to the world. The MCN is a space for dialogue and meeting and Leonardo da Vinci, as a universal genius, has his place fully. This presence also corresponds to the reaffirmed desire to make the MCN a universal meeting place ”, assures Professor Hamady Bocoum, director general of the MCN, who thus wishes to open the museum to all cultures and allow the discovery of various artists.
Disruptions linked to Covid
With the outbreak of Covid in Senegal in March 2020, the initial plans had to be rethought. The exhibition was thus blocked since that date at the MCN and had to wait for its reopening three months ago to allow visitors to come and discover it from January 16 only! The artistic director, who was to come and install the various highly technical panels, was blocked in Italy, forcing the team to manage the installation with instructions given remotely. The opening, an important moment to publicize the exhibition and strengthen diplomatic relations, could not take place, so a virtual inauguration was held instead on January 16.
But despite this not very optimal period, Professor Bocoum defends the importance of culture during this period: “It is one of the entry points for dealing with the pandemic. It feels good to be able to have fun in these times. “An opinion shared by the Italian Ambassador to Senegal, Giovanni Umberto De Vito, who said in his inaugural speech that” to hold an exhibition in this difficult period is an important choice. We want to show our resilience, our commitment to fight the pandemic with absolute respect for barrier gestures, without being silenced by events. ”
A great success
If the 20 hours curfew did not facilitate visits during the week, according to the management of the museum, they were nevertheless numerous, a sign of a real interest. “I am quite surprised by the positive reception given to the exhibition. Many people come to visit it, which is why we have decided to extend it until mid-March ”, announces the director of the MCN, who underlines the“ increase in visitors since the launch of the exhibition ”.
Coming especially for the exhibition, Alphonsine knows “Leonardo da Vinci a little but his works poorly”. “It is a privilege to have access to his paintings even if they are not the originals. It’s important to see great artists from different backgrounds, to diversify your knowledge, ”says the 21-year-old student who is surprised that not more people are present. Leonardo da Vinci is not well known in Senegal. Even if he is studied in Franco-Senegalese schools, for the vast majority of the population, he remains an unknown. Guide at the MCN since January 2019, Lamine Biaye knew nothing about the artist. After having followed a training course for future guided tours of the “Opera Omnia Leonardo” exhibition, the Senegalese discovers a great artist, “very interesting”. “Even if many did not know Vinci, the exhibition allows them to discover him and people want to know more, to know who he is,” he says.
Large panels representing the smile of Mona Lisa displayed throughout the city have widely publicized the event in Dakar. This is the case of Fatou, 25, who came with her friends after noticing the posters in the street. “This is a very good initiative to provide access to the Senegalese population. We are not used to going to museums, but gradually, if we are offered exhibitions of this kind, the population will be more and more interested, ”she said.
If the week, it is the school which constitute the main part of the visits, the weekend, the visitors are more numerous. Dakarois, Yannick, Rachid, Marielle and Lionel had not yet visited the museum and seized the exhibition as an opportunity. “There aren’t a lot of activities at the moment, so it’s one of the few cultural outings that we can do,” says Yannick.
After Leonardo da Vinci, the MCN will exhibit another great European artist: this time it will be Pablo Picasso’s turn to be scheduled in the coming months.
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