Leonardo da Vinci

The Man Who Wanted To Know Everything
There were many people and patrons who would shape the life of Leonardo da Vinci. To begin to understand the life and thinking of this great man, you have to look at his drawings and notes, over 6,000 pages of which have survived to the present day. Presenter Alan Yentob begins his journey following the life of this remarkable man, not in Italy, but in Windsor where Queen Elizabeth II keeps the largest Leonardo collection in the world.

In the library at Windsor Alan discovers that for Leonardo, drawing was not merely a preliminary stage to his painting, but was a way of exploring and interrogating the natural world. Unlike most scholars of his age, Leonardo did not receive a privileged education. Born illegitimate, certain educational privileges were denied him, but we see this proved to be an advantage. He was free to think what he wanted, and not constrained by others.

Revealed to us is a Leonardo fascinated by nature, observing it in minute detail - in particular birds and water and an enduring passion for flight. Following Leonardo’s 1492 designs for a parachute, we experiment with building it, testing it and find… it works!

Away from the great cities of the Renaissance, Alan visits the tranquil hillside town of Vinci, where Leonardo began his life, travelling on to Florence to see where the teenage Leonardo became an apprentice of the master sculpture, Andrea del Verrocchio, heralding the beginning of his great artistic career.

From Florence, Leonardo travels to Milan, with Alan following in his footsteps to the castle of the Duke of Milan, one of Leonardo’s famous patrons. In Milan he paints a series of pictures, among them one of the Duke’s mistresses, Cecelia Gallerani and a religious painting the Virgin of the Rocks. He attempts to win favour with the Duke of Milan, submitting designs for military machines - among them - a tank. But would the tank have ever worked? Following his designs, we challenge the British Army to build it, resulting in an impressive working military machine.

In Milan, Alan discovers a busy artist, as well as his painting, his scientific investigations and military designs, he is engaged in two other major commissions, one of which was a monumental Bronze Horse. This was the most ambitious sculptural project of the era, to stand 24 feet high. His other famous commission was the painting of his masterpiece, The Last Supper. Taking him four years, we find out why it was an artistic triumph, but a technical disaster. Artist Leo Stevenson demonstrates the traditional method of fresco painting, a method rejected by Leonardo, with disastrous results.

We leave the life of Leonardo’s at a time of great uncertainty in his career. The political scene was shifting. With the French about to invade and over-throw his patron, The Duke of Milan, Leonardo flees the city, his clay model of the horse destroyed and his career in question.