Lecture "The Sweet Sadness of the Mouth. Leonardo through Goethe's eyes

The Leda Code. A masterpiece full of enigmas

Leonardo da Vinci, whose 500th death anniversary is in 2019, is, along with Michelangelo, the epitome of a universal genius - painter, sculptor, architect and inventor, a restless spirit full of unbridled creativity who rarely stayed in one place. Often it was only his students who brought to completion what he had conceived. The Old Masters Picture Gallery owes one of its most important paintings to him: Leda with her Children, designed by Leonardo and completed by his pupil Giampietrino. When the painting came to Kassel, it triggered a veritable Leonardo euphoria. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe burst into jubilation in front of this painting, the Electress of Hesse-Kassel copied it enthusiastically, and the Rie-penhausen brothers were inspired by it to create new works. This masterpiece left its mark on the novels of Thomas Mann and became the bone of contention of the powerful, from Napoleon to Hermann Göring. The exhibition traces this work, its emergence from Leonardo's mind and the history of its numerous owners as well as its prominent viewers.

Dr. Justus Lange, Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel
In cooperation with the Goethe Society Kassel e.V.

The lecture is part of the program accompanying the exhibition "The Leda Code. A Masterpiece Full of Riddles" at Schloss Wilhelmshöhe from November 1, 2019 to February 2, 2020.

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