Uncover the Exciting Story of Leonardo da Vinci's Life and Work
Leonardo da Vinci is considered by many to be one of the greatest artists who ever lived. Yet his reputation rests on only a handful of works--including the world's most famous painting, the Mona Lisa.
As the National Gallery in London prepares to open its doors on a remarkable exhibition of Leonardo's work, British journalist Fiona Bruce travels to Florence, Milan, Paris, and Warsaw to uncover the story of this enigmatic genius--and to New York, where she is given an exclusive preview of a sensational discovery: a new Leonardo.
Locked away in a secret location in New York is a painting believed by experts to be a Leonardo, thought to have disappeared centuries ago. Bruce meets the people behind this sensational discovery to learn how it came about, and is given an exclusive preview of the picture, never filmed before.
She travels to the small town of Vinci in Tuscany where Leonardo was born. She follows in his footsteps to Florence, the jewel of Renaissance Italy, where Leonardo was apprenticed to work with the master painter Verrocchio. In the Uffizi Gallery, she sees the first glimpses of the hand of Leonardo the painter. In Florence, Leonardo was feted as an exceptional talent. But, it was here that Leonardo was accused of the crime of homosexuality--punishable by death.
In Paris, Bruce is given a private view of the Mona Lisa and learns the secret of how Leonardo achieved the extraordinary effect that the picture has had on generations of art lovers: by meticulously applying layer upon layer of paint thinly mixed with oil to produce a smoky, mysterious finish.
• Monday, May 20 at 9/8 pm CT and Thursday, May 23 at 10/9 pm CT on KET2
