Leonardo Da Vinci

[DanaK]

Quote

PBS 2-part doc series premieres Monday November 18 2024 from 8-10pm ET. Part 2 will be shown the next night Tuesday November 19 2024 from 8-10pm ET

The series, co-produced and co-directed by Ken Burns for his first non-American subject, explores the life and work of the 15th century polymath Leonardo da Vinci. The series looks at how the artist influenced and inspired future generations. Set against the rich and dynamic backdrop of Renaissance Italy, at a time of skepticism and freethinking, regional war and religious upheaval, the series brings da Vinci'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

Full press release from February https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/leonardo-da-vinci-a-new-film-from-ken-burns-to-air-on-pbs-november-18-and-19-2024/

[shapeshifter]

Watching now. 
When I was a child I wanted to be Leonardo Da Vinci when I grew up. 
I am really loving this. 

[Driad]

So am I.  When I was about 11, I read a biography of Leonardo.  I'm left handed so I wrote the book report in mirror writing, the way he wrote his notebooks.  My teacher was annoyed; maybe she didn't know how to read it.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Driad said:

So am I.  When I was about 11, I read a biography of Leonardo.  I'm left handed so I wrote the book report in mirror writing, the way he wrote his notebooks.  My teacher was annoyed; maybe she didn't know how to read it.

Some teachers shouldn't be.
Do you still have it?

When my sister and her husband helped my parents sort through stuff before they moved from our childhood home, they found a drawing of a flying machine I had done at 13, that my engineer BIL said could probably have worked. 
The drawing disappeared, as did many of my paintings; 6 sketchbooks were destroyed in a flood in my parents' basement. 

I used to despair about how few of Leonardo's artworks remain, but this documentary makes it part of the mystique.

And I've got way too many of mine to pass on 
— especially since I'm no Leonardo.

Here's the PBS page for the documentary:
pbs.org/kenburns/leonardo-da-vinci

Edited November 19, 2024 by shapeshifter

[Driad]

29 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I used to despair about how few of Leonardo's artworks remain, but this documentary makes it part of the mystique.

I never studied art history, but as I understand it, Leonardo tried a lot of original techniques.  Some worked (i.e. the paintings lasted) but some did not.

[shapeshifter]

And many were never finished. 
My art history knowledge is very dated and only covers the main points of what was known decades ago, so this production was fresh for me.
I was heartbroken anew to think of the metal intended for the statues being used to make weapons of war, but I also wonder if it would have worked, given the enormous size of the sculpture. 

[Vermicious Knid]

I enjoyed this. Lots of things I didn't know. He calculated gravity before Galileo and Newton! Although I am baffled by the continuous use of mostly black and white stock film from the 50s and 60s. 

[DanaK]

I finally watched this over the last couple of days and it was really good and enlightening. Da Vince managed to shine among a lot of superstars in the Renaissance period (hearing how he and Michelangelo were in competition was a real laugh). It was interesting that he never finished a lot of work. It suggests some ADD going on but also possibly as suggested he valued figuring things out over completing a project. I’m surprised he didn’t get sued more lol. But he did a lot of different things in his life. I still find it surprising that he was both a good engineer and a great artist. Those two things feel like they would be complete opposites. I thought his drawing of an aerial view of a city was pretty remarkable for the times and he did it not by looking at it from a nearby cliff (assuming one existed) but just by walking around the city

It was interesting to learn that that period of time and location tolerated homosexuality even though it was technically illegal

If I have a criticism, it’s that telling us why a work of art was so great by explaining it in technical terms wasn’t really helpful for me as a non-artist. I felt the same way with Burns’ doc series “Jazz” when a musician would explain why a certain piece or artist was so great in technical terms when I’m at best average at playing piano. It went over my head

I too am left handed but I never thought to write backwards. I just dealt with a smeared hand all my life

Definitely a remarkable doc series that was probably complicated by trying to show the many facets and interests of da Vinci

[Vermicious Knid]

Listed tomorrow on my local PBS station: Behind the Scenes of Leonardo da Vinci with Ken Burns.  Not my local station but the simplest link I could find. 

[DanaK]

7 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

Listed tomorrow on my local PBS station: Behind the Scenes of Leonardo da Vinci with Ken Burns.  Not my local station but the simplest link I could find. 

I watched this earlier on one of my stations. I was pretty interesting