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Past Leonardo 500 Gala

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Leonardo da Vinci Society Gala Dinner

Dinner and Renaissance Music

Award Ceremony for Premio Leonardo 500 

Exhibit of The Leonardo Da Vinci Society
70th Anniversary
Presented by Laura Piccirillo Waste

Friday, April 5th from 6pm to 10pm

The Century Club of California
1355 Franklin St, San Francisco

Dear members and friends of The Leonardo da Vinci Society,

thank you for your participation to the Leonardo 500 Gala last Friday, April 5th. It was a great success thanks to your generosity and your presence. If you did not have a chance to look at our pictures taken by Enrica Cavalli, here is a link for you:
 
Last but not least, here a couple of important moment of our past evening:
 
And a nice article from L’Italo-Americano.
L’Italo-Americano – 19 April 2019
 
See you soon at our upcoming events.
Amelia Antonucci, President
 

Leonardo 500 Anniversary

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On the 70th Anniversary of its foundation, The Leonardo da Vinci Society San Francisco and The Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco are proud to announce
a series of events planned and launched under the auspices
of the Consulate General of Italy,  in collaboration with Humanities West, ISSNAF,
the Museo Italo Americano, the Commonwealth Club
and Stanford University celebrating the Leonardo 500 Anniversary.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11th at 6:00pm

Leonardo’s Knots
By author Caroline Cocciardi
Publisher: Mona Lisa Knot (2019)

The Commonwealth Club
110 The Embarcadero
Reservations: www.commonwealthclub.org/

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15th at 6:30pm

Becoming Leonardo: An exploded view
on the life of Leonardo (Melville House)
By author Mike Lankford
Organized by The Leonardo da Vinci Society in collaboration with Museo Italo Americano

Museo Italo Americano, Fort Mason, Building C
Reservations: Becoming Leonardo

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19th at 6:00pm

Salvator Mundi
A lecture by Prof. Martin Kemp
Organized by Commonwealth Club

The Commonwealth Club
110 The Embarcadero
Reservation: www.commonwealthclub.org/

FRIDAY/SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd and 23rd

Salvator Mundi
Creating Leonardo: Commemorating
500 Years of Leonardo’s Legacy 

A 2 days program organized by
Humanities West

Marines’ Memorial Theatre
609 Sutter St.
Reservation: http://humanitieswest.net/
Discount Tickets for LDV members code: DaVinciSociety

THURSDAY, MARCH 14th at 6:00pm

Mona Lisa Smile:
The question of Leonardo’s Women,
from Vasari to Freud and the Digital Age
by Prof. Henrike Lange, UC Berkeley

Organized by The Leonardo da Vinci Society
in collaboration with The Italian Cultural Institute
Reservation: www.iicsanfrancisco.esteri.it

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20th at 6:30pm

Lynn Harris on Isaacson Book
Leonardo  
Organized by Humanities West

The Commonwealth Club
110 The Embarcadero
Reservation: www.commonwealthclub.org/

SATURDAY, MARCH 23rd  (4pm to 10pm)

Celebrate the Legacy of Leonardo thru Food
Presented by Prof. Ken Albala
Organized by Humanities West
At the Civic Kitchen

Reservation: http://humanitieswest.net/

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27th  at 6:30pm

Leonardo’s Books. New Light on
Leonardo’s Intellectual World
Conference of Prof. Carlo Vecce
(University of Naples “L’Orientale”)

Organized by The Italian Cultural Institute
Reservation: www.iicsanfrancisco.esteri.it

FRIDAY, APRIL 5th  at 6pm

Leonardo da Vinci Society 500 Gala Dinner
Award to 3 young scientists by LdVS & ISSNAF

Renaissance music trio by Roy Whelden
Dinner and DJ

Reservation: www.davincisanfrancisco.com

THURSDAY, MAY 2nd  (10am to 5pm)

Opening of the Exhibition
Leonardo’s Lost Library: 
A Renaissance reader and his books.

Organized by Stanford University
Info: https://arts.stanford.edu/event/

MONDAY, MAY 6th  at 6:30pm

Leonardo and Music 
Lecture by Prof. Kate von Orden
(Harvard University)
Organized by The Leonardo da Vinci Society
in collaboration with The
Italian Cultural Institute

Italian Cultural Institute San Francisco
Reservation: www.iicsanfrancisco.esteri.it

TUESDAY, MAY 14th  at 7pm

Museo Galileo, Florence, Kratter
Visiting Professor, will present to wrap up
our  celebration of 500 years of Leonardo

The Signs of Time: Leonardo da
Vinci’s History of the Earth and the Fate of Man.

Organized by Stanford University
Cemex Auditorium, Stanford University
Info: http://web.stanford.edu/dept/HPSTcolloquia.html

Call For Applications

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The Leonardo da Vinci Society and the Italian Scientists and Scholars of North America Foundation (ISSNAF) Bay Area Chapter are seeking applications for the 2019 Leonardo 500 Award. This award is established on the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death to recognize Italian or Italian American early career researchers working in the San Francisco Bay Area. An award will be assigned in each of the following three categories: biological sciences, mathematical and physical sciences, and engineering. Applications will be reviewed by subject matter experts and winners will be selected by a judging panel.  The winners will be presented with an award certificate and a $1,000 prize at The Leonardo da Vinci Gala in April 2019.

ISSNAF is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote scientific, academic, and technological cooperation amongst Italian researchers and scholars active in North America and the world of research, academia, and industry in Italy. The Bay Area Chapter of ISSNAF was established in 2017 to connect the talented pool of Italian researchers and scholars based in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, and to offer them opportunities and support.

The Leonardo da Vinci Society is a cultural organization based in San Francisco. The Society organizes presentations and other events that highlight the importance of Italian history and culture, and the importance of Italian contributions to American life. Membership is open to all who love Italy and wish to learn more about this wonderful country. Most events take place in San Francisco and guests are welcome. Leonardo Society events are free to members, invited guests, and registered attendees.

How to apply

Applicants must submit a self-nomination by email to bayarea@issnaf.org.

The application must include the following items:

  • Curriculum Vitae with publications.
  • A 1,000 words maximum essay that describes the significance and impact of the applicant’s research, and possibly the connection with Leonardo da Vinci’s legacy.

In the email, the applicant must also indicate the scientific area (biological sciences, mathematical and physical sciences, or engineering) in which the application should be considered. Only one entry is allowed.

Selection criteria

Applications will be reviewed and scored by subject matter experts based on the applicant’s accomplishments and research impact. Extra points will be given to applicants that can draw a connection between their and Leonardo’s work. The winners will be selected by a judging panel.

Eligibility

Applicants must have meet the following requirements:

  • received a doctoral or equivalent degree on or after January 1, 2009;
  • have performed or are performing the work described in the essay;
  • are currently affiliated with an institution located in the San Francisco Bay Area;
  • are at least 21 years old;
  • are Italian or of Italian origin.

Important dates

Applications are due January 31, 2019.

Winners will be informed by March 15, 2019.

The awards will be presented during the Leonardo da Vinci Society Gala at The Century Club of California in April 2019.

For any question contact bayarea@issnaf.org

 

 

Becoming Leonardo

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2019 Leonardo 500 Celebrations in San Francisco

The Leonardo da Vinci Society of San Francisco
in collaboration with Museo Italo Americano

Becoming Leonardo

An exploded view of the life of Leonardo Da Vinci

Book presentation by the author in person Mike Lankford

Friday, February 15 at 6:30 pm

Museo Italo Americano
Fort Mason, Building C

“I found Mr. Lankford’s writing thought-provoking and Mr. Isaacson’s thought-stifling. Mr.Lankford proposes a great many insights…With immediacy and grace, Becoming Leonardo starts on a high note and gets better to the very end.”
— WALL STREET JOURNAL

A Wall Street Journal 2017 Book of the Year
A Spectator 2017 Book of the Year

Why did Leonardo Da Vinci leave so many of his major works uncompleted? Why did this resolute pacifist build war machines for the notorious Borgias? Why did he carry the Mona Lisa with him everywhere he went for decades, yet never quite finish it? Why did he write backwards, and was he really at war with Michelangelo? And was he gay?

In a book unlike anything ever written about the Renaissance genius, Mike Lankford explodes every cliché about Da Vinci and then reconstructs him based on a rich trove of available evidence—bringing to life for the modern reader the man who has been studied by scholars for centuries, yet has remained as mysterious as ever.

Seeking to envision Da Vinci without the obscuring residue of historical varnish, the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of Renaissance Italy—usually missing in other biographies—are all here, transporting readers back to a world of war and plague and court intrigue, of viciously competitive famous artists, of murderous tyrants with exquisite tastes in art ….
Lankford brilliantly captures Da Vinci’s life as the compelling and dangerous adventure it seems to have actually been—fleeing from one sanctuary to the next, somehow surviving in war zones beside his friend Machiavelli, struggling to make art his way or no way at all … and often paying dearly for those decisions.
It is a thrilling and absorbing journey into the life of a ferociously dedicated loner, whose artwork in one way or another represents his noble rebellion, providing inspiration that is timeless.

About the author: Mike Lankford
A graduate of Iowa writers Workshop and the author of Life in Double Time: Confessions of An American Drummer a memoir about a white drummer in a black R & B band. The Washington Post and Chicago Tribune selected as the best music book of the year.

 

This event is free of charge but seats are limited. Please register now to reserve your spot. Thank you.

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Creating Leonardo

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2019 Leonardo 500 Celebrations in San Francisco

The Leonardo da Vinci Society would like to invite you to
a two days program in collaboration with Humanities West on February 22nd and 23rd.

Creating Leonardo

The events will be host at:

Marines’ Memorial Theatre, San Francisco
609 Sutter Street, San Francisco
Tickets at City Box Office 415.392.4400
Information: http://humanitieswest.net

Friday, February 22, 2019

7:30 – 9:30 pm 

Introduction / Paula Findlen (History, Stanford)

Leonardo and the “Beloved Ladies”: Science and Poetry / Martin Kemp (History of Art, Oxford). Leonardo’s fervent and sometimes spurious arguments against poetry in his “comparison of the arts” indicate how seriously he took poets as direct rivals, not least in a court context. His library was well stocked with poetry. Leonardo’s innovations in the portrayal of women in his paintings of Ginevra de’ Benci, Cecilia Galleranti, Lucrezia Crivelli and Lisa del Giocondo are in profound dialogue with the poetic conventions of the “beloved ladies” —who were the stock subject of Italian poetry from Dante onwards. Leonardo’s accumulative aim was to surpass the poets. The theme will be illustrated by dramatic readings from Italian poetry (in translation), ranging from the giants to lesser known court poets who wrote specifically about Leonardo. Featuring Bay Area actor James Carpenter in a dramatic reading.

Performance: Leonardo-Inspired Music / Clerestory, Introduced by Clifford (Kip) Cranna (Dramaturg, San Francisco Opera). The men’s classical vocal ensemble Clerestory performs a program of a cappella music inspired by Leonardo. From masterworks by the great Italian cathedral composers of his time, to meditations on the Last Supper, to inventive tributes like Eric Whitacre’s Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine, we’ll hear how Da Vinci inspired—and perhaps was inspired by—the resonant sound of echoing choirs.

Saturday, February 23, 2019

Introduction / Paula Findlen (History, Stanford)

Leonardo’s Library:  The World of a Renaissance Reader / Paula Findlen (History, Stanford). Leonardo was a lifelong learner, inveterate note-taker, and writer with an uneven and highly self-directed education. He lived in a world in which Gutenberg’s printing press, created shortly before his birth, had begun to transform the nature of the book but manuscripts still mattered a great deal. Early in life, Leonardo owned very few books, but over time his collection grew until he had his own library, in addition to books he borrowed from others. Throughout his life, Leonardo encountered many different kinds of learning; the diversity of his interests led him to read and think broadly. His library is a key to how he interacted with and learned from his world.

Leonardo and Water / Monica Azzolini (History of Science, University of Bologna). Leonardo’s notebooks are replete with reflections about the nature of water. Indeed, he seemingly planned to write a whole treatise on this very subject. In part related to practical problems of engineering and possible commissions from patrons, Leonardo’s fascination with water went much further than that to encompass the movement of waves, water erosion, reflection and refraction, the healing or insalubrious properties of water, and, more dramatically, the Deluge. This lecture will explore both the historical context of Leonardo’s studies, and his methods of inquiry to highlight the way in which Leonardo skillfully waved together observation, reasoning and learning to understand water, one of the most fascinating elements of nature.

Leonardo and the Lure of Machines / Pamela O. Long (Independent Scholar and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellow [2015-2020]). Leonardo was fascinated by machines and mechanical contrivances. This lecture explores his fascination first by considering the ways in which it was one shared by his culture. The lecture will discuss Leonardo’s machine drawings as part of a growing machine culture in which some of his contemporaries, such as Mariano Taccola and Francesco di Giorgio, also drew and wrote about machines. Others avidly studied and copied their works. It will explore the ways in which Leonardo applied innovative drawing techniques to machines. It will discuss his machines on paper and the extent to which they were his own inventions. Finally, it will discuss his notebook, the Madrid Codex I, with its many wonderful drawings of machines surrounded by extensive texts. Central to the talk is this question: What was central to Leonardo’s interest in machines and what was his investigative approach to the many mechanical devices and machines that he drew?

Leonardo’s Legacy: Homage and Irony / Deborah Loft (Art History, Professor Emerita, College of Marin). Taking the long view, what is the significance of Leonardo as an artist, over time? What inspired other artists, from his era to ours, and how did their selections reflect their own times? Echoes of his innovative ideas appear in the work of such Renaissance artists as Titian, and the woman artist Sofonisba Anguissola.  His subjects and techniques also informed the work of 17th century artists, including Rubens. In more contemporary work, Leonardo’s art has become a touchstone for the European tradition, as referenced ironically in the work of Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, Yasumasa Morimura, , and others. “Leonardo” is even the name of a newly designed software system at SAP (the German rival of Oracle.) What are the current meanings of his iconic status in the artistic and digital worlds?

Panel Discussion with the presenters

TICKET INFORMATION

“The Friday only tickets can be purchased online by entering the coupon code in the shopping cart or following the link below which will automatically unlock that code:
http://www.CityBoxOffice.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=2441&coupon=DAVINCISOCIETY

Please note that he 2-Day Combo tickets would need to be purchased by phone to get the special discount.

Leonardo 500 Gala

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The Leonardo da Vinci Society of San Francisco
The President and Board of Directors
cordially invite you to

Leonardo da Vinci Society Gala Dinner

Dinner and Renaissance Music

Award Ceremony for Premio Leonardo 500
in collaboration with ISSNAF

Exhibit of The Leonardo Da Vinci Society
70th Anniversary
Presented by Laura Piccirillo Waste

Friday, April 5th from 6pm to 10pm

The Century Club of California
1355 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA 94109

Renaissance music trio by Roy Whelden

Premio Leonardo 500
The Leonardo da Vinci Society and ISSNAF, in honor of the 500 year anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death in Amboise France, are proud to announce the three winners of the $1000 Award in each of the following categories: Biological sciences, Mathematical and physical sciences, and Engineering.

Exhibit of The Leonardo Da Vinci Society 70th Anniversary
In October 1949, Mrs. Dobbins (Ruth) D’Anneo, Countess Lilian Dandini, and Mrs. Louis (Maria Teresa) Piccirillo met to formally discuss organizing a Society that, at the suggestion of Mrs. Piccirillo, they named “The Leonardo da Vinci Society” after the renown Renaissance Man. Today, we celebrate our 70th Birthday with a small exhibition curated by Valentina Anania and presented by Laura Piccirillo Waste.

REGISTER NOW ON LINE or please make check available to
Leonardo da Vinci Society and return by March 23rd 2019 to:
Leonardo Da Vinci Society   P.O. Box 5775
San Francisco, CA 94147-5775

MAKE YOUR MENU CHOICE now please
If you cannot attend but you would like to enclose a gift,
please use the donate bottom below. 
Your support to the Leonardo 500 Gala will go to help the Leonardo Da Vinci Society Cultural Programs.  All donations are tax free to the extent of the law. Thank you very much.