Leonardo da Vinci

PBS Western Reserve (WNEO 45.1 / WEAO 49.1):

Monday & Tuesday, Nov. 18 & Nov. 19, at 8 PM & 10 PM
Tuesday & Wednesday, Nov. 19 & Nov. 20, at 1 AM

Fusion (WNEO 45.2 / WEAO 49.2):

Saturdays, Nov. 23 & Nov. 30, at 7 PM

This two-part, four-hour documentary directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon explores the life and work of the 15th-century polymath. Examining how the artist influenced and inspired future generations, the film finds in his imagination and profound intellect the foundation for a conversation we’re still having today: what is our relationship with nature and what does it mean to be human?

“No single person can speak to our collective effort to understand the world and ourselves,” said Ken Burns. “But Leonardo had a unique genius for inquiry, aided by his extraordinary skills as an artist and scientist, that helps us better understand the natural world that we are part of and to appreciate more fully what it means to be alive and human.”

Set against the rich and dynamic backdrop of Renaissance Italy, the film brings the artist’s towering achievements to life through his prolific personal notebooks, primary and secondary accounts of his life, and on-camera interviews with modern scholars, artists, engineers, inventors and admirers.