October 1, 2009

ATLANTA -- A rare U.S. exhibit of the remaining few sculptures and dozens of sketches by Leonardo da Vinci and his contemporaries will go on display at Atlanta's High Museum of Art next week.

Art never seen outside of Europe will be among the works exhibited.

The exhibit opens Tuesday and will remain in Atlanta until February, when a modified version will travel to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. It includes pieces from the Vatican's art collection, the Louvre in Paris and the royal collection at Windsor Castle in England.

The centerpiece of the exhibit is a nearly 30-foot recreation of a da Vinci horse statue, which towers over the plaza outside the High. Inside are dozens of sketches he used to make sculptures.

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