Legendary documentarian Ken Burns, renowned for his immersive explorations of American history and culture, is venturing into new territory with his latest project—a sweeping two-part series on the life and legacy of Leonardo da Vinci. Titled simply “Leonardo,” the docuseries marks Burns’ first foray into a non-American subject, but the filmmaker sees clear parallels between the Italian Renaissance genius and the trailblazing figures he has chronicled throughout his career.
“He May Be the Person of the Last Millennium”
Burns is unequivocal in his assessment of Leonardo’s historical significance. “He may be the person of the last millennium,” Burns declares in a recent interview. While acknowledging the claims of other luminaries like William Shakespeare, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Thomas Jefferson, Burns argues that Leonardo stands alone in his unparalleled breadth of genius across multiple disciplines.
“Genius” is the irresistible word that Burns settles on to describe Leonardo—an artist, scientist, engineer, and philosopher whose work was centuries ahead of his time.
Transcending Historical Clichés
Burns and his co-directors, daughter Sarah Burns and son-in-law David McMahon, were determined to present a fresh perspective on Leonardo that transcends the “tortured genius” archetype. While figures like Michelangelo and Caravaggio are often portrayed as volatile and anguished, Burns paints a more affable picture of Leonardo—a charismatic theatre director and musician who was “the life of every party.”
The docuseries delves into Leonardo’s formative years in Florence, where a thriving creative scene nurtured his artistic talents. His apprenticeship in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio exposed him to a wide range of disciplines, from painting and sculpture to engineering and stagecraft.
An Intimate Portrait Through His Notebooks
Burns sees Leonardo’s notebooks as a vital window into his brilliant mind. With some 6,000 surviving pages of drawings, mathematical equations, and philosophical musings, these journals offer an intimate portrait of Leonardo’s insatiable curiosity about the world around him.
As art historian Kenneth Clark observes in the film, Leonardo was quite possibly “the most curious man who ever lived”—a ceaseless explorer whose mind was always racing at “75 or 85%” capacity, in Burns’ estimation.
Illuminating His Groundbreaking Science
While Leonardo’s paintings like the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are his most famous creations, Burns argues that his scientific work was equally revolutionary. From his anatomical studies based on human dissections to his early model of the heart’s chambers and valves, Leonardo’s discoveries prefigured advances that would not be confirmed until centuries later.
“The gobsmacking thing is that MRIs 450, 475 years later are going to prove what he said about the heart right,” Burns marvels.
A Visionary Ahead of His Time
Leonardo’s notebooks also showcase his visionary designs for flying machines, armored vehicles, and other inventions that would become reality hundreds of years after his death. For Burns, these are the works of a consummate “philosopher” who saw no boundaries between art and science, beauty and engineering.
“In order to paint the Mona Lisa he had to understand everything and not just the surface of things,” Burns explains. “That relentlessness is inspiring, infectious. It’s soothing, too.”
As the world grapples with an uncertain future, Burns suggests that Leonardo’s questing spirit and faith in human potential is more vital than ever. “I think it’s important that we pause, take a deep breath, and understand the power, the power, of human creativity,” he says. With “Leonardo,” Burns and his team have crafted a timely celebration of that creativity at its most dazzling and transformative.
