All language subtitles for Secrets d Histoire 2018 Leonard de Vinci TV5Monde 720p HDTV EN SUB_ENG_Subtitles01

SECRETS OF HISTORY

LEONARDO DA VINCI
GENIUS WITHOUT BORDERS

Welcome to the life
of one of the world's greats.

No words are too strong
to describe Leonardo da Vinci.

How could we not
roll out the red carpet

for a man who so deftly handled
both art and science?

He is the Renaissance embodied.

Tuscany, Florence, and his patrons,

as well as becoming part of France,

thanks to the royal patronage
of Francis I.

And it is in France, in the Louvre,

that the most sought-after woman
in the world, the famous Mona Lisa,

sits smirking at millions
of admirers.

We'll find out everything tonight
about the Mona Lisa.

And it's no coincidence
that we are here,

at Chambord in the Loire Valley,

at this iconic Renaissance château.

Leonardo da Vinci

probably left his mark on Chambord.

A subtle mark, as the first stone was
laid a few months after his death.

But his shadow still hangs
over this spellbinding edifice

whose design defies reason.

It may be the Italian master's
posthumous masterpiece.

Leonardo da Vinci has left an image
in our collective memory

of a wise old man
with the beard of a prophet.

Without a verified portrait,

this caricature makes us forget

that Leonardo da Vinci
was once a spry young man,

possessed of incredible grace
and beauty.

His universal reputation as a genius

eclipses the life of a simple mortal
with his own joys and sufferings.

His career has left
many fascinating mysteries

which still engage the passionate.

Tonight, Secrets of History
will show you

the unusual fate
of Leonardo da Vinci.

From his youth in Tuscany,

to his ascension through
the palaces of Milan,

to proud Italian fortresses,

to the luxurious châteaux
of the Loire.

We're going to open some secret doors

to understand his visionary machines,

his mysterious writings,
his masterpieces,

as well as
his lesser-known creations.

Get ready for a breathtaking journey

in the steps of a giant,
into the mind of a genius.

In the heart of Paris,
not far from the Louvre,

sits the Banque de France, one of
the world's most secure locations.

Twenty-eight meters underground,

this room holds the gold reserve.

It also holds an old chest
of unimaginable value.

With a secure escort,
like a new Ark of the Covenant,

the chest is taken out

and its contents filmed
for the first time,

exclusive to us.

It contains the 12 original codices,

Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks,

brought back by Napoleon Bonaparte

from his first campaign in Italy
and left to the Institut de France.

These are spoils of war,
but we can see

that General Bonaparte
was not wrong to bring them back.

Each of these notebooks
is insured today

at 55 million euros.

There are 12, which means
this is over 600 million euros.

Documents like this
are immensely valuable,

but what interests us, however,

is what they contain,
what they reveal about the person.

It's an extraordinary mystery

of a unique genius, perhaps one of
the greatest geniuses in history,

and this is his day-to-day work,
his day-to-day imagination.

The first impression, for a layman,

is that it's
totally incomprehensible.

He was left-handed, so probably
to avoid rubbing what he'd written,

he wrote backwards.

To read the manuscripts,
we use a mirror:

this is called mirror writing.

Hold it like this

and you can read the text
very easily,

as long as you speak
the Tuscan dialect.

Few have seen these mysterious books
up close.

In the 18th century, they were
classified with the letters A to M.

This notebook, B,
is from Leonardo's years in Milan.

It's a particularly beautiful
and bountiful notebook.

Leonardo always had his notebooks
with him to record his thoughts

and to sketch what he saw
or imagined,

and this book in particular
is full of interesting things.

We can see here some violets.

One of the botanical drawings
in this codex.

This is a project for a church.

This is one of Leonardo's studies
for central-plan buildings.

There are many examples of this
in this book.

The notebooks are of different sizes.
Some of them are exercise book sized,

some are smaller,
some are very small,

like this one, for example,
notebook L.

This book still has
its original cover.

It's a simple covering.

It's touching to know

that he always had this with him

on his many journeys around Italy,
especially to Romagna,

where he was particularly interested

in military arts and fortification.

These pages give us insight
into Leonardo's very thoughts.

Leonard da Vinci holds many records.

The latest example:

the sale of Salvator Mundi,
or Christ Savior of the World.

On November 15, 2017,
this painting attributed to Leonardo

was acquired by
the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

for the sum of 450 million dollars.

The most expensive piece of art
in history.

There are paintings
which are icons worldwide.

It's no coincidence
that the Mona Lisa

is the most famous painting
in the world.

It's because Leonardo da Vinci
was someone extraordinary.

His brain was enormous.

How could he be
the greatest painter,

the greatest sculptor of his time,
the greatest director,

a brilliant engineer,
a prophetic inventor,

but also be interested in geology,
science, archaeology?

Ballistics, hydraulics, cinema.

Geometry, mathematics,
anatomy, botany,

painting, drawing,
sculpture, architecture,

it's scary, really.

It is a little intimidating,
such a variety of talents

because we have to add to all that
that Leonardo was very handsome.

He was, it seems,
the greatest dancer of his time,

an outstanding musician,

he was very sporty,
add all these human qualities to him.

Leonardo was a radiant,
brilliant person,

always with a group of people
around him

who loved listening to him.

He charmed everyone.

He was very appealing.

He could convince people, too,
he was impressively persuasive.

He worked with Ludovico Sforza,

he lived with Cesare Borgia,

he worked for the king of France.

Leonardo was considered
the equal of some great princes.

In the Renaissance, Vasari,
one of Leonardo's first biographers,

had only one description:

"Leonardo is divine."

How could you explain all that

without divine influence?

He's indefinable.
We still can't see through him.

Leonardo escapes us.

The more we find out,

the more we feel like
we aren't getting him.

He really was universal
in the way he talked

and still is today, for everyone.

You don't have to be a specialist

to be moved, to cry when faced
with one of Leonardo's works.

We are here on the grounds
of the Château du Clos Lucé,

nestled in the delightful valley
of the Masse, a Loire tributary.

It was in this magnificent dwelling
with its luscious setting

that Leonardo spent
the last three years of his life

at the invitation of Francis I.

In the Middle Ages,
this gallery was a rampart.

It was made this way
during the Renaissance

to dress the facade with pink brick

and tufa stone,
as is typical for Loire châteaux.

We are now entering
Leonardo da Vinci's bedroom.

This place is particularly special.

It is the only surviving residence
of Leonardo's left today.

The decor was recreated
as it was in 1519

with Renaissance furniture
and objects

such as this canopy bed

carved with cherubs
and sea creatures.

This all gives us a picture
of the Tuscan master's private life,

who only had to glance out the window

to see the royal château of Amboise

where his good friend,
Francis I, lived.

We are right to talk about
Leonardo's private life.

It gives us an insight into
some aspects of this mysterious man

who was naturally extroverted
in his younger years

but became more and more reserved,

eventually writing
in one of his notebooks

this line from Ovid's Metamorphosis:

"You Greeks, I doubt
you can tell of my adventures,

"whatever you may know of them,

"as I did them without witnesses,

"with the shades of night
for company."

Leonard was a real beauty.
He was tall,

extremely charming,
a big personality.

He knew that you had to
conquer hearts

through intellect
and through appearance.

He was a real charmer.
He wanted to charm in every aspect.

He's known for his clothing as well,

with his tendency towards style
and fashion.

He spent a huge amount of money
on clothes,

so his clothing
was definitely elegant and refined.

We imagine Leonardo
liked colors a lot

and kept up with the latest fashions.

He showed himself
as a sort of man of elegance,

like a dandy of his time

who always went against
the current trends.

When it was fashionable to wear
long clothes, he wore short clothes.

When dark colors were in fashion,
he had a pink jacket.

We can see how much
he must have influenced

and impressed his contemporaries

with this social ease.

He was very spontaneous,
very unaffected.

He was very free-spirited.
Nothing held him down.

Prodigious and affable,

Leonardo da Vinci was also blessed
with a sense of humor

and a particular love
for boyish pranks.

We can also see a lot of jokes
in his notebooks.

There are funny word games,

wise and eloquent riddles.

Leonardo liked to play with his name.

Leonardo, leone ardente,
the burning lion.

One of Leonardo's word puzzles
shows a burning lion.

He was ready to go to extreme lengths
for a gag.

One story goes that in Rome

he had a small room
where he made his guests wait

and in this room,
there was a very well-hidden hole,

and he had spent a ridiculous amount
of time cleaning pork intestines.

He inflated the guts

and blew them up so much
that they filled up the room,

and the people in the room
were hiding in a corner

because it seemed
like this gigantic bubble

would crush them.

That amused him a lot.

This young Leonardo, so full of life,

who certainly enjoyed life
to the fullest.

Leonardo da Vinci was a free spirit
in every aspect

and perhaps also in his sexuality.

I would like to know more
about da Vinci's sexuality,

but he never talked about it.

Leonardo kept it a secret.

There are a lot of theories,
but they are still only theories.

In 15th century Florence,
homosexuality was illegal.

At worst, it could lead
to being burned at the stake.

However, it was relatively tolerated
and widespread in high society

and in artistic circles.

It was not unusual.

The German word Florenzer,
which means "Florentines",

means a homosexual.

That was how they said it back then.

To fight against
homosexual practices,

there was a letterbox in Florence
for anonymous accusations.

These letters, which are
still kept in the town archives,

were collected in the morning
by the nightwatchmen

and monks as a sort of moral police.

We have in this registry
for anonymous accusations

dated April 9, 1476, an accusation
against Leonardo da Vinci.

It's written here

that Leonardo da Vinci was accused
of practicing sodomy

with Jacopo Saltarelli.

Jacopo Saltarelli
was a 17-year-old goldsmith.

He was one of Leonardo's
young models.

The accusations talk of sodomy
and even all-male sex parties.

The whole thing
was kind of covered up,

just because there was no proof
to show

that Leonardo definitely
had sexual relations with Saltarelli,

so it was forgotten.

He never married,
he never started a family.

So it's not impossible

that Leonardo was a homosexual.

After being interrogated,
Leonardo's name was finally cleared

after a humiliating trial.

This unfortunate episode would
lead him to his greatest discretion.

Another clue as to his private life:

his relationship with his apprentice,
Salai.

He recruited this young man,
Gian Giacomo.

He very quickly nicknamed him
Salai, little devil.

Salai was a demon in Leonardo's life,

who stole his assistants' styluses,

who did all sorts of mischief,
stole money,

and Leonardo forgave everything.

There's a little note from Leonardo
addressed to Salai:

"Let us make peace
and no longer war."

In another note, Leonardo wrote:

"Ladro, bugiardo, ghiottone."

Thief, liar, glutton.

So, Salai was a rascal.

At first, it seemed
like he was an apprentice,

but that's hard to believe.

He may have been a model,

maybe he was a young man
who he liked,

maybe he was a young man
who caught his eye,

which can't be ruled out.

Sources tell us that Salai
was an incredible beauty,

so, Leonardo, who was always
searching for creative inspiration,

must have been
struck by this boy's beauty.

Salai, his model, his little devil,

who some people believe
is Leonardo's St. John the Baptist.

He loved Salai's curly hair.

There are funny little references

which remind us that Leonardo
liked young men.

There are many

somewhat obscene drawings
in Leonardo's notebooks,

and Salai's name appears.

There are drawings of genitals
and all sorts of orifices

which can be used for things
other than reproduction.

And someone, probably maliciously,

wrote "Salai" next to something
that looks like a man's anus.

It could be malicious

or it could be a workshop joke,
someone just wanting to play a prank.

Maybe Salai himself did it,
he was certainly capable.

Leonardo represented sexuality
in a very bizarre manner.

For example, he drew
a cross-section of coitus,

which is kind of almost psychotic.

There's this idea, in psychosis,
that there are no borders

between your own body
and others' bodies.

One of Leonardo's drawings
may shed light on his sexuality.

Found almost by chance
by a private owner,

it is one of eight paintings of
St. Sebastian mentioned in his books.

And the only one verified so far.

Classed as a national treasure,

it's estimated to be worth
at least 15 million euros.

It's something truly exceptional.

This is the biggest name
in the history of art.

It shows St. Sebastian,

by Leonardo da Vinci.

We can see the characteristics
of Leonardo's left-handedness.

We can clearly see
traces leading to the left.

And St. Sebastian is shown
before being pierced with arrows.

This is the first showing of
this drawing in France in 100 years.

There are almost no others
in existence.

It's a miracle.

This piece is important when it
comes to Leonardo's private life,

and it's something dear to him

in the sense that St. Sebastian
is the patron saint of homosexuals.

It's a young St. Sebastian,
he's around 30,

and that was the age Leonardo was
when he drew this piece.

He definitely put
a lot of himself in there.

It's not a self-portrait, but it's
definitely inspired by his life

and the struggle between religion

and the right to love the male form

and to represent it
in an attractive way.

Leonardo da Vinci's personality
is difficult to determine,

as he left few clues
in the many pages of his notebooks.

His rare and often unfinished works

raise more questions than answers.

Hidden behind the myth,
the man of flesh and blood

has left a few traces
of his feelings.

It's difficult to understand
Leonardo da Vinci's psychology.

He seems like someone
who was quite prudent about himself.

Leonardo must have written
thousands and thousands of pages,

and his personal feelings
are extremely rare.

It wasn't until Jean Jacques Rousseau
that introspective writing started.

There was a darkness in him

that was always hanging over him.
We can see it in his writing.

There was always an ambiguity

between good and evil,
light and shadow

fighting within the same person.

Being very attached to nature,

Leonardo differed
from his contemporaries

in the matter of food.

Ahead of his time in many respects,

the man made a choice
which broke with the times.

Leonardo would be popular today as
one of the most famous vegetarians.

That's something extraordinary.

His contemporaries said,

"Our Leonardo,
who does not eat animals."

Imagine that time when only the rich

could afford to eat meat,

someone like Leonardo deciding
that meat was bad for your health,

absolutely extraordinary.

No-one in Europe was vegetarian.

It was impossible.

He wrote a lot on the subject.

"Do not make
your stomach a graveyard."

The idea repulsed him.

He was an animal lover

with a particular fascination
with birds.

Leonardo would go to markets
to buy birds in cages,

open the cage, and watch the birds
fly away into the sky.

Francis I, at the start of his reign,
wanted Chambord.

His monogram, the crowned F,

and his sigil, the salamander,

are everywhere here.

Ground had barely been broken
on this marvelous château

when Leonardo da Vinci died
just 500 years ago.

And it took until
the reign of Louis XIV

for it to be completed.

In the absence of archives,
the original plans remain a mystery.

However, it is difficult to imagine

that it was not awarded
to the man whose official title

was the king's first painter,
engineer, and architect,

Leonardo da Vinci.

When you approach this magnificent
open central staircase,

one thing becomes clear:
this château is the work of a genius.

This helical movement
at the heart of the keep

seems to take the château
towards the heavens.

It is composed of two helices

which intertwine,

allowing two people to climb
and descend the steps

without meeting each other.

This feature is significant,

since Leonardo, as we know
from his notebooks,

had a particular liking
for centered, round designs.

He even designed two-
and even four-part staircases.

The theory of da Vinci's influence
on the design of Chambord

is all the more attractive
because, before his death,

the king assigned him the task
of designing a perfect city

in Romorantin, in the Loire Valley,

where Francis I wanted
to establish his court.

In the last months of his life,

Leonardo visited his compatriot
Domenico da Cortona

who was one of
Chambord's first architects.

No proof
but an accumulation of clues.

We can only speculate.

If Leonardo did indeed
sign his name to the original plans,

that would mean
this magnificent building

is his last masterpiece,

his testament in stone,
a legacy for eternity.

Let us start at the beginning.

From the start,
Leonardo's life is astonishing.

Illegitimate and illiterate son
of a notary,

born in a small town in Tuscany,
what future could he have?

Twenty-five km from Florence,
in the heart of Chianti Montalbano,

lies the commune of Vinci,
from where Leonard took his name.

His ancestors settled there,
and his father, Piero,

was a local person of note.

The da Vinci family
was a line of notaries,

from the 14th century onwards,

who had even obtained
Florentine citizenship.

That meant they could cover
judicial authorities

in the Republic of Florence.

This right wasn't given
to all the notaries in the village.

His father was not married,

and he probably seduced a peasant

from around Vinci, named Caterina.

The problem was that he fell in love,
but they could not be married.

So Leonardo was an illegitimate child
born out of wedlock.

He was what they called a bastard.

Stendhal said,
"He is a child of love."

Leonardo was born on the night
of April 14 to 15, 1452,

around three hours after
the Ave Maria evening prayers.

We're lucky we know,

thanks to an extraordinary document,
very rare.

It must have been his grandfather,
in a moment of affection,

who noted it in a notebook.

"Today, a grandson was born to me,
son of my son Piero."

Founded in the 13th century,

Santa Croce is the historic church
in the burgh of Vinci.

Today, it still holds
a precious souvenir

from Leonardo's first days.

We are in the baptistery
of the Santa Croce church in Vinci.

This is what baptismal fonts
were like at the time.

And this is where little,
newborn Leonardo

would have been baptized.

Piero accepted his first son,

for the time being
his only male heir,

but he would not legitimize him.

Caterina remained
outside of the family.

Caterina was distanced
from the family,

she doesn't appear amongst the guests

at Leonardo's baptism.

She stayed in the shadows.

Leonardo's family decided
on an arranged marriage

for Caterina to hush up the scandal.

So, Caterina was married

to Antonio Buti,

called Accattbriga, the brawler.

A man who was very violent and angry,

since accattbriga
means the brawler,

someone who doesn't miss a chance
for a fight.

Leonardo was taken from his mother
very early on.

We know that at five-years-old
he was with his father's family,

specifically
in his grandfather's house.

In Anchiano, three km from Vinci,

there is a house designed
the same way

as that in which Leonardo grew up.

It lies in a landscape that has
barely changed for centuries.

Leonardo grew up
with his father's family,

with his grandfather Antonio
and his uncle Francesco.

We picture Leonardo as a child
being very curious, lover of nature

and animals.
He no doubt watched especially

all sorts of mechanisms,

like windmills,

and the atmosphere,
effects of light and smoke.

We can also guess that
the countryside of Vinci

had an influence on Leonardo

that stayed with him
throughout his life and work.

His oldest drawing is of a landscape.

We can picture that
in his younger years,

he began to observe the world,
the stars, the moon, the sun,

and tried to understand
how everything around him worked.

We think that this ability he had

for observation,

there was something
of the future genius

who used nature to be creative.

But the boy's future
was still uncertain.

Especially since
after four successful marriages,

Piero had legitimate heirs

in whom he placed all his hopes,

going as far as to exclude Leonardo
from his will.

As a bastard,
some doors were closed to him.

Illegitimacy in the 15th century
was not a problem in the upper class.

However, for notaries and merchants

it was more difficult,
especially for notaries.

So that had a consequence
for Leonardo,

which was that he could not
be a notary,

and he could not go to university.

He would remain uneducated.

When he was around ten,

he must have started thinking:
what would Leonardo da Vinci become?

He had already started drawing,

so he could be sent
to the scuola d'abaco.

This was a school where,
in two or three years,

you were taught how to get by,
to have a career in trade,

or have a career in art.

Young Leonardo showed
a precocious intelligence,

but it was definitely
his extraordinary drawing skills

that caught the eye of Piero.

One day, his father took
a bunch of his drawings

and showed them to one of
the great artists of Florence.

He said, "What do you think?"
And the artist said,

"They're very good, for a kid."

"Will you take him on
as an apprentice?"

"Yes."

While he hadn't been
very present as a father,

Piero did have the intelligence

to understand his son's talent

and to send him to work
in the workshop

of Andrea del Verrocchio.

Verrocchio wasn't just any artist.

He ran the best workshop in Florence.

He was court artist to the Medicis.

The Medicis
were a very cultured family,

especially Lorenzo,
who sought to gather around him

an intelligentsia. People who,

in the fields of literature, history,
science, art,

represented perfection,
a return to the ancient methods,

but also showed modernity.
He wanted to create new styles,

to show that Florence was
the intellectual capital of Italy.

Piero, in sending Leonardo
to Verrocchio's workshop,

knew that it would allow him
to be an artist of the highest level.

Leonardo da Vinci left for Florence.

The city was buzzing in every regard.

Politics, architecture,
and, of course, art.

It was a golden age
that we call the Renaissance.

Under the great masters,

young Leonardo quickly made his mark,

and it didn't take him long
to step into the light.

The city had, in the 14th century,

written in its decrees
that it should be beautiful.

It was absolutely
full of beautiful palaces.

It was a city of merchants,
of artisans,

a city that liked
to show off its wealth

through festivals and tournaments.

He must have been immersed

in noise, smells, and a city
that was still under construction.

The city was a republic

that was deftly controlled

by the Medici family.

The Medici's dominance in Florence
created greed.

In 1488, a conspiracy
by a rival family, the Pazzi,

ended in a bloodbath.

As a witness to ferocious repression,

Leonardo attended the execution of
one of the masterminds at Bargello,

where his father worked.

Here, at the corner
of the stairs and the keep,

Bernardo Bandini Baroncelli
was hanged.

Leonardo was here.

He could see the hanging,

and we know this because
he left a very detailed drawing

of Bernardo Baroncelli,

even including the clothes
he was wearing:

his small black hat,
his large jacket,

his pink doublet, and black shoes.

Aside from its proximity to power,

Bargello Palace was five minutes
from Verrocchio's workshop

where Leonardo was cutting his teeth.

Patronized by the Medicis,

the workshop enjoyed
a variety of commissions

which ensured the young artist
had excellent training.

The Verrocchio workshop
was particular

in that it was very versatile.

You could be a painter,
but you also learned sculpture,

you also learned mechanics,
goldsmithery,

the work was collective,

and no-one specialized
in any one area.

It was like a family

where the young apprentices
lived together

with their masters who became
like a spiritual father to them.

All the young men who came through
the Verrocchio workshop

would go on to dominate
Florence's art scene

in the years 1480-1490.

Botticelli, Ghirlandaio,
Perugino, Signorelli,

everyone, for example,
who painted the Sistine Chapel,

they all came up through
Verrocchio's workshop.

Bargello Palace today hosts
a collection of works,

one of which shows
Verrocchio's talent

and may show the grace
of a young Leonardo da Vinci.

Here, we have David
who has just fought Goliath,

done by Verrocchio,

perhaps using Leonardo da Vinci
as a model.

Of course, there is absolutely
no proof of this.

But it was common practice
in all workshops

to use apprentices as models.

This mixture of arrogance and grace

is an evocation of the youth
and beauty of Leonardo da Vinci,

especially if you compare it
to Donatello's David,

where you can see the biblical hero

has his eyes lowered,
he's in nostalgia, melancholy.

So, two pieces produced
in Florence in the 15th century,

two opposed interpretations
of victory.

Verrocchio's workshop was attached
to gigantic projects

such as the cupola of
the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral.

Leonardo probably helped
in topping the lantern

with a gilt copper sphere
weighing over two tons.

But it was in painting

that the young apprentice
made a real impression.

His talent was utilized

when master Verrocchio
was working on the Baptism of Christ.

This painting is really
within the style

of Florence in the quattrocento,
the 14th century.

Everything is built around
hard lines,

linework that we call
the "dry method".

There's a hardness to the flesh.

John the Baptist baptizing Jesus.

There are angels watching.

And Verrocchio allowed Leonardo
to paint a figure

in the lower left part,
a student's part.

And Leonardo painted
something incredible

with an unbelievable dynamism
and life.

We can see how soft
and light the hair is,

the contours of the face
blending in with the background,

so, it's an early example
of what we would later call sfumato.

The Baptism of Christ
is a great story

because it was when Leonardo showed

that he was young
but already better than the rest.

Biographers tell us
that once Verrochio saw

the quality and beauty of the angel,
he put away his brushes for good.

"It is a poor student
who does not surpass his master,"

wrote Leonardo.

His promising beginnings

involved particular use of light
in a series of studies of drapes

carried out over his years
with Verrocchio.

The department of prints and drawings
at the Louvre

holds several
of these rare sketches on linen,

which are worth a considerable sum.

Light was one of Leonardo's
great passions.

Light is the interplay
of light and shadow.

And in the drapery series,

the goal is to be able

to convey the darkest blacks

and the brightest lights
and the greys in between.

It looks like these drapes
are carved from metal

by the fact that the brightest spots
are on the edges,

these strong breaks in the drapes

like light playing
on a bronze statue.

This type of work
is specific to Leonardo.

Registered with the guild
of St. Luke in 1473,

an association of painters,

Leonardo da Vinci created
his first big commission

for a Florentine monastery:
Annunciation.

Its balanced and supremely
structured composition

reveals the artist's search
for perfection

which tended towards obsession.

But his style reached a turning point

with his Adoration of the Magi,

commissioned eight years later
by another monastery.

With the Adoration of the Magi,
whether drawing or painting,

it reaches freedom.

The preparatory sketches
for the Adoration are breathtaking

because they are full of
crossed-out material,

with an extraordinary dynamism
and sense of movement.

In this painting, we see Leonardo's
ability to revolutionize,

to innovate with
traditional iconography.

Normally, the Virgin with child
was on the left or right,

Leonardo placed them in the center,

like a pillar, like a fulcrum,

around which all the other figures
are placed

from all the corners of the world.

He didn't just want to represent
the procession of the Magi

but also the specific light

of divine illumination
at that particular moment

and represent the reactions
of all those present

to the sudden appearance
of the divine in the real.

Towards the edge of the piece,

one figure is of
particular importance:

a probable representation
of Leonardo himself.

This would make this the only
self-portrait from his younger years.

Normally, when a painter represents
themselves, they're looking outwards,

for one simple reason:

they have to look into a mirror
to draw themselves,

so they can't have their head turned.

That's not the case at all
with Leonardo's Adoration of the Magi

as he's not looking outwards.
Did he use a set of mirrors?

It's entirely possible.

Is this elusive gaze
that of an artist

subconsciously rejecting a piece
that was too ambitious?

Leonardo would drag his feet
and did not meet deadlines.

Despite his extraordinary ascent,
Leonardo, 30 years-old,

was known for being slow
and not completing works.

Compared to other artists
like Botticelli, Ghirlandaio,

they never stopped painting.

Leonardo produced almost nothing.

It was practical for him
to stay with Verrocchio.

He had money, good commissions,

and he could continue
to hone his skills

to do what he wanted to do.

All his life,
that's what Leonardo wanted.

To have the ideal conditions
to flourish in all fields,

and he could only find that
in lessons.

Leonardo clearly chose his side.

He went to the Princes.

His career was encouraged more

by the princes than by the Republic.

We can see it in
manuscripts from that period

where he expressed anxiety

about his creativity
and the passing of time

and anxiety about not being able
to finish the Adoration in time.

He gave up on a piece
that was too complex.

It was time to leave.

His first masterpieces
created in Florence,

such as the Annunciation
and the Adoration of the Magi,

allowed the artist to forge
a solid reputation.

In 1482, Leonardo da Vinci was 30.

After years of working with
Verrocchio's workshop,

it was time for him
to explore new horizons.

Leonardo headed
for the duchy of Milan

where the powerful
Sforza family reigned.

He hoped to find new masters there,
welcoming and generous.

Sent by Lorenzo di Medici
to give a gift to the Duke of Milan,

young Leonardo took this opportunity

to show the true scope
of his talents.

His years in Milan
allowed his creativity to flourish.

Eternal masterpieces,
spectacular inventions,

and even some luxurious
interior decorating.

For Leonardo,
it was time for excess.

February 1482.

In the middle of Carnival,

Leonardo made his entrance
to the Lombardy capital.

He was received in the Sforza castle,
the residence of the Dukes of Milan.

Leonardo arrived in Milan
like a musician,

with a gift:

a lyre with a carved dragon head

made from a horse skull.
It was absolutely fantastic,

and Leonardo could play it.

Leonardo was first and foremost
an artistic ambassador.

Gian Galeazzo Sforza
was the duke of Milan.

But it was his uncle,
Ludovico Sforza,

known as il Moro,
who held the real power.

Leonardo da Vinci was ready
to get into the good graces

of this powerful man,

as shown in a letter

where he lists his skills.

He wrote the first résumé in history.

And he used a great technique.

If you read his ten skills,
one by one,

he presents himself not as a painter
but as a military engineer

capable of creating
incredibly complex machines

that will kill your enemies.

The Duke needed such
formidable weapons,

so he hired Leonardo
as a military engineer.

Leonardo's audacity paid off.

Ludovico il Moro believed
he could use the Florentine's talents

to serve the fame of the Sforzas.

He entrusted him with the project
of creating a giant mounted statue

of the dynasty's founder.

Leonardo got to work right away.

He visited all the stables in Milan

to find the loveliest horses

and he drew them,

but one had a
particularly lovely neck,

one had well-muscled legs,

a third one
had a fantastic mane, etc.

He took all these drawings,
combined them,

and created the beast of his dreams.

As well as looks,

Leonardo wanted to make
his bronze statue an impressive size.

Over seven meters high.
Something never seen before.

This huge technical challenge

would force him to revise his design
for almost 15 years.

The complexity lay in

melting 13 tons of bronze
practically at once,

then filling a mold with the bronze.

Leonardo invented a system

using three synchronized forges.

How did he synchronize them?
With gunpowder.

This meant that when the bronze
got to a certain part of the mold,

it would explode

and they could pour the second forge,
then the third one.

There was still
one more difficult problem:

raising and turning the beast
with all its material,

almost 100 tons in total.

A Herculean task
in the late 15th century.

The reconstructions
at the Leonardo3 museum in Milan

give us an insight today.

Today we would use enormous cranes.

Leonardo could only rely on
his own ingenuity.

Here is an example
of a giant lifting machine.

With its complex mechanism,

even a child could lift the horse
just by turning the winch.

Very slowly, of course.

It had to be turned one meter
to lift it one millimeter.

Unfortunately for Leonardo,
war intervened.

When the French arrived
in Italy in 1495,

bronze was needed to make cannons.

The French also destroyed
the clay prototype

that Leonardo had made.

So, the project was buried for good.

Unable to cast the Sforzas' glory
in bronze,

Leonardo contributed to
the prestige of their court

with luxurious parties whose setting
and special effects he designed.

One of them went down in history.

It was held in 1489

at the wedding
of Gian Galeazzo Sforza

and Isabella of Naples, a princess.

The party was based on
surprise scenery effects.

Isabella was invited to arrive
at 8 p.m.

At that moment, a concert was held
in her honor,

playing music from Naples.

When night fell,

one of the walls in the room

rose up,
revealing the heavens behind it.

It was an extraordinary
piece of mechanics.

It showed the revolutions
of all the mythological stories

and the gods, Jupiter and Apollo,

on a series of platforms

all working almost like
an astronomical clock,

with the stars revolving
around the scene

which opened up like an egg.

Leonardo also designed
some exceptional costumes

which could inspire stylists today,

they are so creative and original.

It was opera before opera.

It was a complete art
with pyrotechnics

and music, celestial music.

Leonardo was a theater director,

a musician,

and a great mechanic.
Practically a magician.

Since he had become essential
to his pleasure,

Leonardo frequently
went with Ludovico il Moro

to Vigevano, 35 km outside of Milan.

A summer palace where
the Sforza court would vacation.

It was a place of pleasure,
of relaxation,

for balls and ceremonies,

banquets, theater shows,

and Leonardo da Vinci
was the director, of course.

Leonardo played the lyre
and the viola excellently,

but in particular,
he would improvise poetry.

And love was never far
from his amorous games,

which were not so innocent.

In Vigevano Castle, Ludovico il Moro

had a bedroom for his mistress,
Cecilia Gallerani,

better known as
the Lady with an Ermine.

She was Ludovico's mistress
before and after his marriage

to Beatrice d'Este.

This strong connection allowed
Leonardo to paint her picture.

It was an amazing portrait,

the first modern portrait
in the history of art.

He didn't just show
the features of her face

but the passions of her soul.

Leonardo invented
the psychological portrait.

Lady with an Ermine is magnificent.

It shows a living person.

There's a spotlight on her.

She's turned to the side,
a smile on her face.

There's something very alive,
we can see a personality.

This was a woman
who was the intellectual equal

of the man facing her.

She has this ermine in her hands

that can't escape,

representing Ludovico il Moro.

In the medieval bestiary,
an ermine is an animal that,

rather than being captured or soiled,

prefers to kill itself.

This gave the idea of Ludovico
being a man of integrity and virtue,

which was far from the truth.

Ludovico's relations
with Cecilia Gallerani

are documented in missives
from Italian ambassadors

who came to Vigevano.

One in particular

says that Ludovico il Moro, I quote,
"has come over with a fever

"caused by an excess of coitus

"demanded by a harlot
who is always by his side."

This young madam was none other
than Cecilia Gallerani,

the Lady with an Ermine.

The Duke's wife, Beatrice d'Este,

jealously chased Cecilia
from the court.

But Ludovico was incorrigible,

and, once again, Leonardo,
privileged witness to his infidelity,

was commissioned to portray
his next mistress: Lucrezia Crivelli,

better known today
as La Belle Ferronnière.

In La Belle Ferronnière,
Leonardo represents female eroticism.

The cheeky look,

looking at the viewer,
even provoking them.

This portrait isn't just
of a debauched woman,

it's about the ambiguity
and poetry within a person.

Cecilia Gallerani was very nice,
very kind.

La Belle Ferronnière is more austere,
more distant.

We get the impression
that she's not so open,

much more distant from the viewer.

Ludovico was aware that
Leonardo could give her

the most refined, alive,
and subtle image

in his intellectually
astonishing court.

It's not just political affirmation
with huge horse statues,

he also illustrated real charm.

At the court of Duke Ludovico Sforza
and amidst the whirlwind of parties,

Leonardo da Vinci did not forget
his primary calling as a painter,

quite the opposite.

The young master's style
was taking shape,

and the masterpieces kept coming.

To such a degree that his name
was already making it across borders.

With his fame growing,

Leonardo had to deal with
new commissions.

For this reason,
he started his workshop in Milan,

where he employed
the collaborative model

he learnt from Verrocchio.

But it was alone
that Leonardo da Vinci

created one of his most
spectacular works.

It started as a commission
from Ludovico il Moro

for the Dominican convent
of Santa Maria delle Grazie.

It would eventually become
a mausoleum to the Sforza's glory,

and the basilica already held
a number of treasures.

It was Leonardo's job to decorate
the monks' refectory

with an appropriate theme:
The Last Supper,

Christ's last meal
in the company of his disciples.

The Last Supper is
the achievement of the Renaissance.

It is a huge composition
with never before seen power.

The Last Supper opened a new chapter
in art history, humanity's history.

Leonardo creates a space
with a visual trick.

It's all geometrically structured.

The apostles are organized
into groups of three,

forming irregular triangles,

and there is only one
perfect triangle,

which is Christ,

to show, obviously,
Jesus's moral perfection.

The moment that Leonardo chose
to represent is crucial.

It's the moment when Jesus
informs his disciples

that one of them will betray him,

so he represents
the emotional reaction to that,

the electric current
that passes from one to another,

trying to know who could do
such a terrible thing.

Some are offended,

some are completely stunned.

Some are surprised.

And this movement in the soul

of each of these figures
is what interested Leonardo.

Judas is uncertain.

He hasn't yet chosen good or evil.

He doesn't know
what his destiny will be.

Leonardo took his time
in painting Judas,

to the point that the prior
of the monastery grew impatient.

There's a great anecdote
about the painting of The Last Supper

where the prior had had enough.

What was going on?

He'd been working on it for years.

So he went to complain to the Duke.

Why isn't he making any progress?

The Duke said as well, "Leonardo,
it looks like you're doing nothing."

And apparently Leonardo came in,

looked at the piece,
made one tiny brushstroke,

and left.
And didn't come back for a week.

Relations with the prior
had degenerated,

and Leonardo said,

"I've looked everywhere
for someone with the treacherous look

"to serve as a model for Judas.

"But looking at you, Father,

"I think I've found him."

Leonardo explained to Ludovico

that for a great genius, the more
they work, the less they achieve.

So he had this extremely
odd way of working,

but it showed above all else

that he was
an incredible perfectionist.

Like no other painter has ever been.

Leonardo never mastered
the technique for frescoes,

which require speed

and don't allow mistakes.
You can't go over what's done.

For Leonardo, fresco work
was unbearable.

He always needed to have that freedom

to revise his ideas,
to perfect things.

To get even closer to perfection,

Leonardo invented
an experimental oil technique

which allowed him
to endlessly refine his work.

But this ingenious process
had a price.

What's awful about
The Last Supper is that

while it was a huge accomplishment,

it was a technical disaster.

Over time, pieces fell off,

and what we see today
is only a ghost.

It's a memory
of what Leonardo painted.

The Last Supper is lost forever.

While the original piece is lost,

modern technology allows us

to bring it back to life.

The Leonardo3 museum in Milan

has brought back many parts
that have disappeared.

Leonardo didn't just create
this famous rectangle,

he may have also painted the ceiling,
33 meters of heavenly vaults

with lapis-lazuli
and little golden stars.

Try to imagine what it was like
to enter a room

that was entirely painted
to look three-dimensional.

Entering the house of Jesus
under a starry sky,

it was the most amazing thing
at that time.

Leonardo invented virtual reality
at the end of the 15th century.

Today, we have used
the latest technology

to give our visitors a time machine,

to see The Last Supper
as it was in Leonardo's day.

A true miracle.

In the delightful setting
of Clos-Lucé,

Leonardo spent most of his days

scribbling his scientific thoughts
in his notebooks.

This Florentine
was an unparalleled musician

as well as an inventor
and a visionary architect,

as attested
by this double-decker bridge

designed to avoid contact
in case of plague.

It's time now to look at
Leonardo scientific prowess,

this man who dreamed
of flying through the air

and navigating under the sea.

A giant, always ahead of his time.

Leonardo da Vinci saw the future

five centuries after his time.

I would say that Leonardo da Vinci
was very modern,

very up-to-date, very contemporary.

He was a pioneer of innovation,
the patron saint of engineers.

He devoted his life
to the study of the universe.

With an ever-watchful curiosity,
capable of questioning ideas

that were 2,000 years-old.

Throughout his life, he maintained
a highly rational mind

that said, "OK, that's what they say,
but let's check."

Or, "I think so, but am I sure?"

An uneducated man

but a disciple of experience,
as he himself said.

Leonardo contributed
an encyclopedic knowledge

working in all fields
in Renaissance courts.

You can't understand Leonardo without
understanding his predecessors.

Leonardo did not invent
the machine gun.

Leonardo did not invent the tank.

Leonardo did not invent
a whole host of machines

or the mechanical techniques
they used.

They were not his inventions.

Leonardo drew on the knowledge
of his time,

but he went further.

He looked in medieval manuscripts

and copied machines
drawn by other inventors,

one by one.
But Leonardo was able to improve them

because he was much better
at drawing.

By isolating certain details

and drawing annotated cross-sections,

Leonardo invented technical drawing.

In his own way, he contributed to
the rise of the technology needed

to overcome a shortage of labor.

At a time when the Black Death
had eliminated so many people,

Leonardo took it upon himself

to replace people with machines.

So, during the 15th century,
particularly in Tuscany,

there was great
technological innovation.

And Leonardo set himself apart
with an avant-garde approach:

creating technology
inspired by nature.

This made him a pioneer
in biomimetics.

Many things were dreams.
The dream of flying, especially.

It's often based on principles

that come from observing birds.

If you understand how birds fly,
you can make humans fly.

To make this dream a reality,

Leonardo designed
several flying machines.

The 3D laboratory
at Dassault Systèmes

have virtually recreated them
thanks to the Open Codex project.

It brings together
over 200 individuals

from around the world

who bring Leonardo da Vinci's
inventions to life.

There's something magical
about imagining flying this glider

which is much more like a bird

than a plane should be.

I'm looking at the ribbing

which is designed to hold
the person in the glider

who would be here

and would operate the handles
to make the wings beat.

In Milan,
at the Leonardo3 research center,

Leonardo's flying machines
have been recreated full-scale,

down to the last detail,
like the famous ornithopter.

But in reality, the engineer
could not take flight.

Technically, the machine works.

All the parts are operational.

What's amazing is that he understood

that to fly, you can't just
beat your wings,

you need to bend them,
like moving your arm.

This requires an extremely
complex mechanism.

But the question was:
could the machine fly?

The answer is no.

No human has the strength to produce
a hundred wingbeats a minute.

It was impossible.

But Leonardo didn't just dream.

He created functional machines,

mechanisms that are no less
relevant today.

The odometer, for example.

It meant he could
measure distances

using a gear system.

It moves this platform here

and makes balls fall
into a receptacle.

Once your journey is over,

you simply count the balls,
and you know the distance.

Once again, Leonardo
was ahead of his time,

as to calculate the kilometers
traveled in a car,

we all have an electronic odometer.

Biomimetism, robotics,

design, virtual reality,

five hundred years later,

industrial engineers
have proven Leonardo da Vinci right,

making him even more visionary.

What motivates us is the trinity
of science, technology, and art.

When he scrawled
in his tiny notebooks,

just little sketches,

you can see that this guy
worked with the imaginary.

He was outside of the limits
of the physical world.

With digital technology,
especially 3D, it's the same thing.

Leonardo da Vinci did not
shy away from anything

in knowing the laws of movement
or of light

and the secrets of life.

Whatever doors he came up against,

Leonardo always looked for the key
in nature's great open book.

Leonardo wanted to explore the inside
to better express the outside.

To do this, he dissected cadavers.

The Specola museum, in Florence,

contains the oldest collection
of anatomical waxworks.

The Church allowed doctors
and painters

to carry out dissections in hospitals

and universities.

But it had forbidden the study
of the soul, inside the heart,

as that was intangible.

They believed that the soul
was bestowed by God.

In 1507,

Leonardo began dissecting an old man
who had just died in front of him

in the Santa Maria Nuova hospital.

He looked for causes
of this quiet death

and made a major discovery:
the causes of a heart attack.

There's a clinical description
in his writing

of atherosclerosis that could have
been written by a doctor.

He was the first to do it.

And he saw that an artery
in the heart

had become dried, hard, and clogged.

Maybe that could be
the cause of death.

And he discovered that there were
eddies inside the ventricles.

That was one of
the most important discoveries

because the heart was then
analyzed from the 17th century on.

As well as the mysteries of death,

Leonardo wanted to follow
the secrets of life to its origin.

He dissected a pregnant woman
and then her fetus.

He was the first to discover
the three membranes

that surround the fetus

and the first to correctly draw
the internal position of the fetus,

as before, we didn't know how
it was positioned inside the belly.

It was a horrid job,
he didn't do it for fun.

Once he had understood the muscles,
maybe the nerves and bones,

the rest was of no interest
to an artist.

He didn't just dissect,

he tried to understand

because he knew that
a representation

that only went on surface appearances

didn't get to the depths of the soul.
That's what he sought,

relentlessly, with his scalpel

and with his pencil
or his paintbrush.

It's not Leonardo the painter
and Leonardo the scientist,

he became a great painter
because he was a great scientist.

Gifted with an extraordinary eye,

Leonardo da Vinci sought
to capture the moment,

to deconstruct every movement.

I'm convinced he had a sort of
superhuman sensitivity,

that is, he was able to deconstruct
movement very quickly.

For example, he saw the movement
of the wings of a dragonfly.

He saw it.

And Leonardo wrote
a treatise on movement

where he deconstructed
human movement.

It was a cinematic vision

where he broke it down,
image by image.

There are so many drawings
of cats, for example,

by him. Live cats that he studied.

What's funny, with these cats,

is that there's a little dragon
right in the middle,

and if you're not paying attention,
you think it's a cat too.

That's Leonardo's method.

His mind always worked by analogy.

Whirls, whether it be
the curls in hair,

whirlpools or water,
or eddies in blood

in the valves of the heart,

for Leonardo, these were analogies

that proved there were echoes
in the upper world and underworld.

Leonardo said there was a correlation
between the body and nature.

Bones were like rocks,
flesh like the earth,

and blood like the rivers.

We are here
in Leonardo da Vinci's workshop,

recreated at Clos-Lucé

in the spirit
of a Renaissance bottega,

with care taken over every detail.

Look at these pigments
for creating colors

and all these painter's accessories
and here, a lapis-lazuli.

Over there, there are
drawings and sketches

showing the important work
carried out in this place.

In this atmosphere of toil,

it feels like Leonardo could appear
at any moment.

I cannot resist showing you
this underground passage

that is said to have once connected
Clos-Lucé with Amboise château.

According to tradition,

it allowed Francis I to meet Leonardo
in secret.

But it is not clear why
the king would have to hide this.

There are many tenacious legends
surrounding Leonardo da Vinci.

Some of them have their charm.
Look here,

an ancient light well,
now blocked up.

And there, a pile of rocks
stops us going any further.

After spending
almost 20 years in Milan,

Leonardo had to make it through
a symbolic tunnel.

The arrival of the armies
of the king of France, Louis XII,

predecessor of Francis I,

expelled the Sforzas from the duchy.

And Leonardo, 50 years-old,
had to change his patron.

This began a period of instability

which forced him to become a sort of
artistic and military mercenary.

With rivalries with
the other great artists of his time,

this genius had to surpass himself.

Without his protector,
Ludovico Sforza,

Leonardo hesitated over
going over to the French side.

Everyone was after him,

but he decided to offer his services
in Venice as a military engineer.

His plans were not followed through.

In Mantua, he began a portrait
of Duchess Isabella d'Este,

which also remained unfinished.

Leonardo made more journeys
to Rome, Florence,

waiting for fortune to strike.

And a devil appeared:

the renowned Cesare Borgia,
calling him to new adventures.

It may seem surprising

that Leonardo chose
to work for Cesare Borgia,

an extremely violent, bestial,
controversial man

of his time.

But we have to remember
that Cesare was the son of a pope,

of Pope Alexander Borgia,
Alexander VI,

and he was very close
to the king of France.

This great captain tried

to carve himself out a principality
to the north of Rome

between the Adriatic
and the Mediterranean.

A very important swathe of Italy.

Leonardo was taking a risk,

but he thought, "It'll work.

"This is someone who is going to
build a great duchy

"and become a very important man.
It'll be like with Ludovico.

"I'll be able to really flourish."

On June 21, 1502,

Leonardo joined Cesare Borgia
in Urbino,

an important ducal city
that he had just conquered.

We have a passport
written by Cesare Borgia

that names Leonardo da Vinci

as his fully-empowered
military engineer.

Leonardo was on the march
with Cesare Borgia's troops.

Leonardo the engineer
invented mobile bridges.

He mapped out the whole region.

This meant he was able
to visit all the fortresses.

Among these fortresses,

Leonardo spent almost two months
at Imola,

where Cesare Borgia
had billeted his troops.

Cesare Borgia entrusted Leonardo
with checking the buildings,

their strength,
and suggesting improvements.

So, Leonardo made sketches,

proposed ways to optimize,
particularly in the ravelins,

which were circular
defensive elements.

Sort of the outposts of the fortress.

Leonardo's time here
left us a very important document

both scientifically and artistically:

the map of Imola.

It's a planimetric map of the town.

A very precise, very accurate map,

a bird's eye view, so to speak.

Leonardo didn't have a plane
or a drone

or anything like that,

but he had his head and his eyes.

Leonardo, a man of war,
carried a sword.

He was on the front line to observe
the horrors of the battlefield.

Leonardo called war:
una pazzia bestialissima,

a most beastly madness.

So, clearly,
from a rational point of view,

he hated war
and all its consequences.

He must have been a pacifist

but then, there's reality,

and if you want to be important
and close to a great politician,

there was no choice,

he had to work on military arts
to win over the prince.

But the death of pope Alexander VI
in 1503

brought about the fall of his son,
Cesare Borgia.

Leonardo once again
lost his protector

and returned to Florence,
where his glory began.

When Leonardo went back to Florence,
it was the artistic capital.

There was a rivalry and competition
between artists.

It wasn't like Milan
under Ludovico il Moro.

The old generation was there:
Botticelli, Signorelli, Perugino,

and a young man
who was being talked about,

a certain Michelangelo

who had done the Pietà
in St. Peter's in Rome,

which had blown everyone away.

He would soon create David,

his monumental nude sculpture.

Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo
seemed to cordially hate each other.

The origin of the conflict

may have been a comparison
between two types of art,

and Leonardo had said that painting
was superior to sculpture.

This would have annoyed
the young Michelangelo.

There was probably jealousy as well.

Leonardo was a very outgoing man,

he liked comfort,

he liked to work when he wanted to.

He always had a group around him
who liked to listen to him.

Michelangelo was a tortured,
dark man,

he was difficult, hot-headed,

he destroyed himself physically
for his work.

This rival culminated in a duel

at the end of 1503.

It took place in the Council Hall
of the Palazzo Vecchio.

Leonardo was commissioned
to paint a monumental fresco

depicting a victory
of the army of the Republic:

the battle of Anghiari.

To provoke the artist's pride,

the government also commissioned
Michelangelo

to paint another fresco of a battle
in the same hall.

The Florentines were very sneaky.
If they wanted Leonardo to finish,

they had to put him
in an unpleasant situation,

with his rival.

Leonardo threw himself
into his composition,

and when you look at
the preparatory drawings,

they're covered in scribbles
and full of inventions.

It's really something else.

And Leonardo decided to do something
that had never been done before,

which was to paint war

as it really is, in all its horror.

After two years of military service
under Cesare Borgia,

he was very aware
of what war was like.

When he described battles, he said,

"A painter has to know how to show
the dust that rises during a battle."

So, he wanted to show the indignity,

the rivers of blood in the mud...

The horses fighting,

the men fighting, the sweat,
the blood flowing.

Michelangelo
chose something different:

the battle of Cascina.

It's more about
the psychology before the battle.

The men who are on the lookout,
ready to act

to defend the Republic of Florence.

And it's quite a striking scene.

There's no battle.

They are two very opposed choices.

Michelangelo's was probably
the more original.

Leonardo's was the more classic

but the stronger image.

But what was announced

as the biggest duel
in the history of art

ended early.

Michelangelo abandoned his project
in the early stages.

He was called to Rome
to paint the Sistine Chapel.

For Leonardo, this was
another technical disaster.

He didn't know how to paint on walls.

And, once again, he used a trick,

but it didn't work.

Today, only copies,
such as this one by Rubens,

give us an idea
of Leonardo's lost work.

It's a tragedy that we can't see

these compositions finished.

Imagine these things
on a monumental scale

but right up close.
The Sistine Chapel of Florence.

The Battle of Anghiari
changed the course of art.

After this new failure,

Leonardo left Florence for Milan,
still under French rule.

He restarted his workshop
and brought in a new recruit:

Francesco Melzi,

a disciple who would stay
with Leonardo to the end of his life.

He was an aristocrat,
a very cultured boy

with whom Leonardo

had a much more intellectually
sophisticated relationship.

Melzi became responsible
for Leonardo's papers,

and he inherited them.

Melzi was the promise

of being able to organize
all the theories he had in his head.

Francesco Melzi and other pupils

no doubt contributed much
to his Bacchus,

a painting attributed to Leonardo.

This masterpiece has unfortunately
seen the ravages of time.

The Louvre has entrusted it to
the research and restoration center,

in the expert hands
of Cynthia Pasquali.

A painstaking restoration

with almost surgical precision.

Is this really a Leonardo
or was it his workshop?

We haven't answered that,
and we may never answer it.

When we get into the painting,

when we examine it
in order to restore it,

we look at a lot of things.

This painting of Bacchus
in the state it's in now,

the piece is completely buried

under previous restorations

which altered it,
the damage it's been subjected to.

So, we don't see it as it was.

Cleaning is something

that is the most dangerous, I'd say,

because it's irreversible.
Once you've removed something,

you can't put it back.

So, we take our time over it

to be sure we don't remove anything
that might be original

or historically significant.

For example, we found a little rabbit

that was buried.

He's there, see,

a little rabbit looking at the field

that was underneath a repainted spot.

Da Vinci's works are so dirty

because we've hardly dared
to touch them

since they're so important.

This painting of Bacchus,

he has a strange look to him,

showing he's not so holy.

Leonardo always painted
to express emotions.

Sometimes these emotions
were not very Catholic.

Could we say that? Maybe.

Leonardo da Vinci is now 60.

Despite the years,
his renown, and his philosophy,

the master needed a new protector
now more than ever

to allow his inspiration to flow.

But Leonardo would have
to wait a few years

before finding the right man
for the job.

When he arrived in Rome in 1513,

it was in the service of someone
very important:

Gian Medici, brother of the pope.

He lived in the Vatican,
in the Belvedere,

one of Rome's most beautiful palaces.

And he was entrusted
with important work,

mostly engineering.

But he was almost never asked
for his services as a painter

because competition in art
was fierce in 16th century Rome.

Leonardo had acquired a reputation

as being an easel artist,
producing smaller paintings.

The pope
was an extremely cultured man

but also a very pragmatic man.

He preferred artists
who worked quickly.

Everyone knew he could not
manage these large worksites,

manage the site at the Sistine Chapel

like Michelangelo did,
to oversee the decoration

of the Vatican's chambers
like Raphael did.

These men were much younger
than him,

and they were known as artists
that would see something through.

Leonardo very quickly realized

that there was no place for him
in Rome.

Suddenly, an unexpected event
changed his fate.

In 1515,

Francis I, the newly-crowned
king of France,

claimed the Duchy of Milan
and restarted war in Italy.

Crowned with glory
after the battle of Marignan,

he met the pope in Bologna
to negotiate peace.

Accompanying the papal delegation,

Leonardo da Vinci was probably
a witness to this meeting.

Francis I and the pope met just here,

on the Piazza Maggiore.

They offered the people gifts
such as food and clothes.

Francis I even demonstrated
his miraculous powers,

the amazing gift
that the kings of France possessed

to heal the sick

just by looking and touching.

The event is documented
in this 17th century fresco

where we see Francis I in Bologna

healing the women.

It must have been on this occasion

that Leonardo and the king of France
met each other.

Their meeting in Bologna
was brief but intense.

Leonardo must have been fascinated
by Francis I,

a young king, full of ambition,

someone who even wanted
to become an emperor.

The victor of Marignan
was an impressive man,

the ideal prince.

He was tall, handsome,

women liked him,
he was admirable, he could fight.

He was a troubadour,
a courtesan, a beautiful soul.

For his part,
Leonardo saw in Francis I

that man he'd been dreaming of
his whole life.

A protective patron, a father figure

who wouldn't ask him to deliver
precise commissions on time,

but who would let him work
at his pace, in peace.

On the other side,
we can picture Francis I

who wants to create
the best court in Europe.

He was very affected
by what he saw in Italy,

by their marvelous courts,

and he thought that

maybe if he could get Leonardo
out of Italy,

he would be a lovely jewel
for his court.

Francis I pressured Leonardo
to come to France.

A letter from his advisor,
Lord Gouffier de Bonnivet,

to the French ambassador in Rome
conveys this enthusiasm.

"I ask you to request that
Mr. Leonardo come before the King

"as this man has a great devotion,

"and assure him that he will be
welcomed by the King and his mother."

And it worked,

since Leonardo probably
thought about it a little.

Remember, Leonardo was old,

so it would be a long,
difficult journey,

and, no doubt, he must have known

that it would be his last,
that he wouldn't come back.

He accepted the invitation
and made his way to France

where he would spend
the last three years of his life,

taking with him the Mona Lisa,
St. Anne, and Saint John the Baptist.

It's an emotional thought.

Imagine da Vinci on his journey,

his paintings packaged fairly well,

these paintings that are so fragile.

We treat them as sacred relics,

we hardly dare to touch them today,

and they were treated like
something totally normal back then.

It's emotional and frightening.

This time we are here

at the magnificent Amboise château
that Francis I loved so much

because it reminded him
of happy childhood memories.

The château you see

is made up of buildings
from the 15th and 16th centuries

as well as both impressive towers,

such as this one,
known as the tour des Minimes,

40 meters above the Loire.

As the heart of royal power
during the Renaissance,

Amboise did grow in size, but alas,

it was partially destroyed
after the Revolution.

But we can get an idea of its extent

thanks to a drawing
by Leonardo da Vinci

viewed from the south face.

Leonardo did make it here to Amboise

in fall 1516.

In this room, the château's largest,

Francis I heard his council

and most likely welcomed Leonardo
and presented him to his court.

Look at these remarkable columns,

one decorated with fleurs de lys

and the other with ermine spots,

the symbols of the Kingdom of France
and the Duchy of Brittany.

You see here a throne

also decorated with fleurs de lys.

Just imagine Leonardo da Vinci's
official entrance,

the great Renaissance master

accompanied by his disciples,
here before Francis I.

The young king had found
his magic man.

And Leonardo da Vinci,
now in his twilight years,

was not thinking of retiring,
quite the opposite.

These three years in France

were productive years for him,

full of ambitious projects.

France loves Leonardo

because Leonardo was good to France.

A stone's throw from Amboise,

Leonardo da Vinci
took up residence at Clos-Lucé,

with a generous salary
and ideal working conditions.

The Saint-Brice family has owned
this estate since 1854.

For several decades now,

they have been restoring it,

bringing this unique place
back to life

to carry on the memory
and heritage of Leonardo da Vinci.

When Leonardo da Vinci arrived
at Clos-Lucé,

he came with his favorite pupil,
Francesco Melzi,

as well as Battista de Villanis,
his new servant from Milan.

He was well-loved
by the royal family.

They spoke Italian both in the town
and in the court.

There were Italian artists
in the town of Amboise,

so, for Leonardo,
it was a new Renaissance.

But Leonardo could also orchestrate

some exceptional events.

A talented scenographer.

He coordinated no less
than four great parties here.

And they were spectacular.

They involved everything
that Leonardo could do,

which meant creating devices

to show that the French court

was one of the most refined
in Europe.

Known as a master of scenography

and special effects
since his time in Milan,

Leonardo da Vinci reproduced
his memorable

heavenly event in France.

And the old master
had one more trick up his sleeve.

One machine in particular
made an impression:

a mechanical lion,
designed in tribute to the King.

In Bologna, it has been recreated
by a historian,

an expert in ancient robotics.

The mechanical lion
is an amazing automaton.

It was like nothing before it.

And it was two or three centuries

before western mechanical science.

It works with a system of springs

and a sequence changing mechanism

which uses gears.

It contains the origins of calculus.

Although it hadn't been formulated,
the concept is there,

as there are different
combined movements

like a car going from forward gear
into reverse.

At first, they were frightened,
"Oh, it's a lion!"

And then, they were fascinated.

"How does this thing move by itself?"

And then, the cherry on top,

the lily appearing.

He would recreate it a few times

to enchant the court

with the idea that automatons

bring to life
an ephemeral work of art,

impressing the public enormously.

He invented, he amazed,
he inspired wonder.

Behind the splendor
and great festivities,

the friendship between
Leonardo and Francis I

was demonstrated every day.

Francis I was inamoratissmo,

totally enamored with Leonardo.

They were made for each other.

There was an almost
paternal respect between them.

Francis I had lost his father
when he was two-years-old,

and he saw in Leonardo a sort of
father figure and a mentor.

These two men shared

an extraordinary
intellectual passion.

Several times, Francis I
called Leonardo "my father".

Now over 65,

Leonardo had not yet made
his last brushstroke.

There is no age limit for greatness.
Despite his declining health,

ideas and plans were forever forming

in his brilliant mind.

With the support of his loyal pupils
and Francis I,

Leonardo proved his reputation
for genius to the end.

Upon his arrival,

the king tasked Leonardo
with a huge project:

constructing the Royal Palace
in an ideal city for his court.

The place they chose was Romorantin,

Francis I's childhood home

where part of his mother's castle
still exists.

She was a great woman, intelligent.
Today we'd say she was a politician.

Louise of Savoy, during the first
ten years of the King's reign,

she was the one in charge.
The King was young.

Louise of Savoy played
an important role

in Leonardo's arrival,

as it seems that the king
and his mother

already had plans
for the Royal Castle

before they met Leonardo.

The project grew bigger

after they met Leonardo.

Leonardo had the triple title

of engineer, painter, and architect.

As an engineer,
Leonardo is interesting

because in France,
he could now carry out

architectural work
in creating a palace.

He learned the French
didn't have palaces.

They had châteaux,
but they were rather provincial

compared to what Italy had.

So, Leonardo was invited
to create a palace at Romorantin.

The idea was a grand château

with stables, a town, a new Rome.

Leonardo only drew sketches
for this ambitious project,

but the museum of Sologne
in Romorantin

still holds today the plans

and maps created by Leonardo himself.

This is a reproduction
of the Arundel Codex.

One of two codices
containing the plans for Romorantin.

There are three pages on Romorantin,

particularly this one

which shows
the overall plan of the project.

There are more technical drawings,

such as this pump system.

Hydraulics were fundamental
to this project.

One of the main ideas of the project
was its relation to the river.

There was a palace that was
supposed to look onto the water

extended by a perfect town
around 400 meters long.

Something massive,
never done before in France.

But Leonardo da Vinci
envisioned even more:

managing France's water courses.

In particular,
he wanted to divert the Cher

to increase the level
of the Sauldre at Romorantin.

Leonardo dreamed of
colossal projects,

like joining the Atlantic
and the Mediterranean.

By digging a canal

that connected Romorantin
to the Atlantic,

another to the Channel,

a third to the Mediterranean,
maybe a fourth to the Rhine,

he would make this town into a hub
of communication.

He worked on it a lot over 1517,

but he was already old and sick,

and the project was no doubt
abandoned in 1518.

With no work to direct
as his health permitted,

Leonardo returned
to his favorite craft.

In particular, his Saint Anne.

Leonardo refined this painting
for 15 years, to his last.

Now in the Louvre's great gallery,
this painting remains unfinished.

Yet, it is almost perfect.

It's almost like
Leonardo's will and testament.

He showed all of nature
in this painting.

It was the work of his entire life.

"I wanted to be a great painter,
I wanted to be a great scientist,

"and here is the result."

The protective, reassuring feeling
shared by all the figures,

in particular
the Virgin Mary and child,

seems to resonate with
the artist's personal life.

It's a mother who is accepting
her son's sacrifice.

And Leonardo wanted to
represent that moment

when the Virgin wants to hold on,

but she accepts his fate,

which is necessary to save humanity.

He may have thought
of his own situation,

being a bastard himself.

In his last years,

this look of sadness, of melancholy,

it may be himself he sees in it,

so she's the most interesting,
most surprising figure.

It's the smallest smile
in the painting,

the most emotional,
the most poignant, and human

because there's this melancholy,
this sadness.

It's the beginnings of a smile
that doesn't hide her sadness.

Leonardo died whilst
constructing this smile,

the most subtle and human smile

that he ever painted in his life.

He worked with images
of women his whole life.

His work features
many instances of the relationship

between mother and child,

which he always shows
with immense tenderness.

There are always protective Madonnas,

loving, gentle.

In Spring 1519,

Leonardo, 67,
was struck by paralysis

and lost the use of his right hand.

Bedridden in Clos-Lucé,

the old lion's strength
was declining day by day,

until May 2.

He received the last rites.

Leonardo took his last breath

and resigned his soul to God.

At his side was his loyal associate,

friend, and assistant,
Francesco Melzi.

The letter to Leonardo's half-brother
written by Melzi

is clearly full of sadness,

full of the awareness

that a great person,
one of the greatest, had left us.

It was the death
of a truly great man.

One year before his death,

the master dictated his last wishes
to the notary at Amboise.

A copy is kept today
at Amboise Château.

Leonardo took a certain
number of precautions

to ensure his belongings were shared

particularly between two people

who played big parts in his life.

Salaï inherited a certain number
of artworks,

and Melzi, who was with him
until his last moments,

who would play an important role

in remembering Leonardo's work.

His funeral was held
ten days after his death,

and he wanted his funeral

to be that of a great lord.

That means the whole clergy
and the Friors Minor,

everyone was invited
to Leonardo's funeral

in the collegiate church,

and the procession, very solemnly,

with 60 people bearing torches,

accompanying Leonardo's casket.

It was time to say goodbye.

In France, one man in particular
was saddened more than others.

Legend has it that he died
in the arms of Francis I.

It's very symbolic,
this prince of art and literature

being there for the last breath

of this wise man, this scientist,
this great artist.

However, we know that
it's just a story,

as the day that Leonardo died,

Francis I was at Fontainebleau

for the baptism of one of his sons.

In the 19th century,

painters such as Ingres
seized on this legend

and created a romantic vision
of the king at Leonardo's bedside.

He really did believe he was
an extraordinary person,

so it is likely that he
held Leonardo in his arms,

perhaps in his bed, to comfort him,
to make him feel better.

I think that story is based
on something that actually happened.

Leonardo da Vinci was first buried
in the collegiate church,

once located in the heart of Amboise,

which was sadly destroyed
during the Revolution.

In 1863,

excavations found a skeleton
not far from a tombstone

which bore fragments
of the artist's name

and the name of St. Luke,
patron saint of painters.

We can logically infer,
but not prove,

that this is the Italian genius.

In 1874, his remains were transferred

to St. Hubert chapel,

a magnificent location
in a flamboyant Gothic style.

"Like a full day
brings us good sleep,

"a life well lived
brings us a peaceful death,"

wrote Leonardo
in one of his notebooks.

After such a productive life,

we can be certain
that this Italian genius

will rest in peace forever.

Despite the many mysteries,

one thing has always been certain:

time and death have not buried
the memory of this extraordinary man.

Leonardo is more alive
and more popular than ever.

And it may be because
the legend of his life

is still sprinkled with
a collection of mysteries,

starting with that of the Mona Lisa.

The most-viewed portrait
in the world,

the most critiqued,
and the most studied,

but something about it
seems to escape us still.

The Mona Lisa's ineffable smile,

could it be Leonardo
thumbing his nose at posterity?

Why is there such
a universal passion

for the Mona Lisa?
Why do people come in droves

to take selfies with it?

It's a mystery to me.

It's striking, mostly, it's alive.

There's an interaction with her.

The first time I held the Mona Lisa,

I thought, "This is incredible,
how was this painted?

"It's so full of life.
There's a vibration in it.

"Am I crazy?"

The Mona Lisa is something
to be crazy about.

Painted in oil,
on a 77 by 53 cm poplar panel,

she does seem to be alive.

The Louvre receives mail from across
the globe concerning this painting,

some addressed directly
to Mona Lisa herself.

Senhora Monalisa,

called la Gioconda,
Musée du Louvre, Paris.

This one here, for example,
a Mr. Léon

who writes, "My dear Mona,

"I am sorry to keep you waiting.

"I could not be freed
from my obligations

"concerning the celebrations

"of the Armistice
of the First World War."

We have to show Mona
people's holiday photos.

"Hello Mona, hello Lisa.

"We are in Prague.
The weather is lovely,

"so we are always smiling.
Lots of love, kisses."

Before becoming a legend,

Mona Lisa
was a flesh and blood woman.

Lisa Maria Gherardini,
also known as Monalisa,

Lady Lisa.

She was the second wife
of a fabric merchant,

Francesco del Giocondo.

The painting's story begins
in Tuscany in 1503

in uncertain circumstances.

But the ancient villa
of the Ghirardini family

still stands today
in Vignamaggio, in Chianti.

It was a holiday home

where Leonardo da Vinci was invited,
according to local legend.

To welcome the master,

they held a great banquet

with various types of game and meat.

Unfortunately,
Leonardo was a vegetarian.

He didn't eat anything.

So, they gave him wine.

Unfortunately, he was teetotal.

So, it was a disaster, in the end.

There's a local legend
that's very funny:

Leonardo went to his room

and he was joined by little Lisa

who was a friend of the family

who came to see him.
They got on well.

That's when, according to legend,

he created the sketch of Lisa's face

that would later become
the Mona Lisa.

A note, dated October 1503,

the time at which
Leonardo began the Mona Lisa,

written by Agostino Vespucci,

a Florentine civil servant,

mentions Lisa del Giocondo by name
in reference to Leonardo's painting.

This is today's irrefutable proof
of the model's identity.

But Leonardo's attachment

to the painting
to the end of his life,

tells us that to him,
it was more than just a portrait.

This painting has slowly become

something more than a portrait
of Lisa del Giacondo.

It's become the expression of a woman

who represents
the universality of humankind.

In the Mona Lisa, he has represented

the humanity of which
a woman is capable.

This vast, infinite interior world.

And the landscape
brings out this humanity.

Through her smile, through her gaze,

Lisa establishes complicity,

an intimacy with the viewer

that has never been seen
in the history of painting.

It's blown people away.

We've realized that it's a painting

wherein Leonardo
has conveyed this life force.

Leonardo da Vinci
had almost no material.

It's just layers of paint.

How did he place these layers?
That's the mystery of the Mona Lisa.

The center for research
and restoration of Musées de France

is trying to pierce the veil
using x-ray analysis.

We have here La Belle Jardinière,

a painting by Raphael
from the same time as the Mona Lisa.

There's something different
to what we usually see

in paintings from that period.

In comparison, the x-ray
of the Mona Lisa is surprising.

They seem like failed x-rays,

ghostly, with fluid edges.

It's difficult to find
the surface composition

although you can see here
a suggestion of the head

and the neckline here.

But where are her clasped hands?
Where is the landscape?

It's still ghostly.

How did he do it?
There are no brushstrokes.

There's nothing, it's evanescent.

There's the famous sfumato
around the figures.

You can't tell where
a face becomes clothing

and clothing becomes landscape.

Everything merges together,
harmoniously,

and it seems to exist
in its own right.

In order to control its conditions
electronically,

the Mona Lisa is kept
in a wooden case.

As if in suspended animation,

the Mona Lisa is kept
in a stable environment

at 20 degrees, 24/7,

and 50% humidity.

You can't take this painting out,
it's extremely fragile.

When you see it laid on a table,

it's just a sheet of paper.
It's so fine,

even worse than paper,

it's curved, it's warped.

And you can see this long crack

which reaches as far
as Mona Lisa's face.

Miraculously, it has stopped
just above her head,

but with one unintended
climatic change,

it could break in half.

It would lose some material.

The Mona Lisa's face
would break in two.

This painting really has to be
controlled daily,

I'd say even second by second.

The Mona Lisa
hasn't always been so well-protected.

August 22, 1911,

the most famous woman in the world

was stolen
by a 30-year-old Italian worker.

In just a few minutes,
he grabbed the Mona Lisa,

dismounted it quickly
in a service corridor,

and made off with the painting
under his arm.

It was a national scandal

because this was a part
of French heritage

that disappeared spectacularly,

and the news spread around the world
as of August 1911.

The impact was huge.

Vincenzo Peruggia was the very worker

who installed a protective window
over the painting.

For over two years,

he hid the Mona Lisa
in his room in Paris.

But in December 1913,

he took it to Florence
to sell it to an antique dealer

and was arrested.

His motivation for the theft

was to return a stolen masterpiece
to Italy.

France could breathe easy.

The Mona Lisa was returned
to her home in the Louvre.

Since then, conservators
have objected to any removal.

As a rare exception,
she set sail for New York in 1963,

where she was welcomed
like a celebrity

as an initiative by
Minister for Culture André Malraux.

She was loaned for the eyes
of another icon: Jackie Kennedy.

The painting was replicated,
on postcards,

in photographs, color reproductions.

I think it was the first time

that a work of art was recreated
thousands of times

throughout the world.

Copies of the painting date
as far back as Leonardo's time,

such as the Prado Museum's
La Gioconda, in Madrid,

painted in Leonardo's workshop.

But Mona Lisa
doesn't only have twin sisters.

The Condé museum in Chantilly château

holds a strange cousin
of the Florentine woman.

This is a drawing,
known as La Joconde Nue.

It's a very mysterious work

which came from
Leonardo da Vinci's workshop

and which has given rise
to a lot of speculation.

We've found a lot of resemblances

to the painting in the Louvre,
in the position of the hands,

the way the body is turned.

What really makes it similar
to the Louvre painting

is this enigmatic smile,

sketched lightly,
very much Leonardo's style.

It's also this soft portrayal.

We have all the mysteries
of the Mona Lisa here,

to which we can add
the mystery of her nudity,

of her hairstyle,
of this figure's gaze,

which may be imaginary,
aiming for a universal beauty.

The Mona Lisa has caused
some fantastic speculation.

Some even see Leonardo

as the patron saint of a secret cult
only known to the initiated.

The legends persist,
but the mysteries remain

because at its core,
there is such an unusual mind,

could it be part
of a multitude of truths?

The Louvre's archives department

holds all publications
on the Mona Lisa from 1503 onwards.

Alongside the official files,

it has attracted countless theories,
more or less original.

Here, we have what we call
"Leonardo's follies".

These are letters which
are not historical or scientific.

These are all people who think
they've discovered

the secret of the Mona Lisa,
the mystery she's hiding,

so we have a lot of theories,

all of them unbelievable.

The whole world

writes to the Louvre
about the mystery of the Mona Lisa.

The latest famous example
is The Da Vinci Code.

This novel, by Dan Brown,

was a worldwide bestseller
and was adapted for the big screen.

It painted Leonardo as the master
of a secret society

and his most famous paintings
are full of coded messages.

It's true that there is ambiguity
within Leonardo,

which is perfect for adoption
by an esoteric organization.

There are mysterious parts
of his life.

The interplay
between light and shadow,

which frequently occurs
in his writing.

We know that he
carried out dissections.

Could he have been a necromancer?

Someone who digs up bodies,

cuts them up to study them.

Doesn't that sound like black magic?

Leonardo lived in a time
when magic was very important.

Astrology was very important
in the court of the Medicis.

It was the time
of Hermes Trismegistus,

of looking for secrets
in Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Leonardo left some mystery,

but he sought out mystery

like an aesthetic seduction.

If we look at St. John the Baptist,

he is appearing out of the shadows.

St. John the Baptist

was the last painting
undertaken by Leonardo.

This masterpiece shows
the last prophet,

announcer
of Christ's coming to Earth.

After the Mona Lisa,

St. John the Baptist
is definitely considered

to be his most mysterious painting,

but I'd say it's the one
that makes you most uneasy.

He's giving a very invasive look

and a noticeable smile.

This is someone
who is very ambiguous,

and it's difficult to interpret,
seeing it for the first time.

Firstly, because
the religious symbols are hidden.

The cross he's holding
is barely visible.

And there's this strong gesture,

his hand pointed towards the sky,

an indication

that the real truth is Jesus
who is coming soon.

This gesture says, "Look."
In my opinion,

he wants to say,

"Look around, mystery is everywhere,
beauty is everywhere."

We can definitely say

that Leonardo had some
unconventional theological ideas,

but this did not make him an expert

in ancient magical theories,

including Egyptian theory.

For this idea that Leonardo
was an initiate

in some esoteric rite,
there would be traces elsewhere.

This is the contradiction
in Leonardo's oeuvre,

which is, from start to end,

rational, intelligent, coherent,

and defies this type of explanation.

Another source of misunderstanding
is the Vitruvian Man.

Drawn by Leonardo
based on an ancient treatise

on the ideal proportions
of the human body,

it is often interpreted
as a symbol of cosmic harmony

which conceals the golden ratio,

a divine proportion
synonymous with true beauty.

Contrary to popular belief,

the golden ratio is absolutely
not present in the Vitruvian Man.

There is, however,
this fundamental idea

that within the microcosm of Man,

there are harmonious proportions.

Vitruvius' text explains

that a man can fit inside
a circle and a square,

and Leonardo found
his own solution to this

by offsetting the square
relative to the circle.

It's possible as well
that the Vitruvian Man,

iconic as it is,

could well be Leonardo da Vinci.

I think that Leonardo had
a very high opinion of himself.

He saw himself as...
not quite God's equal,

but as someone capable
of similar creation.

A figure of perfect genius,

Leonardo da Vinci has seen
extraordinary posthumous fame.

Virtuoso artist, visionary engineer,
poet of life.

Every century has seen him
as a role model.

A great figure can have
as many faces as we want

and that has to adapt to a new time,
to all periods,

and answer almost every question.

And with Leonardo,

there's enough material
for quite a while yet.

Leonardo da Vinci is immortal.

His work knows no borders.

His oeuvre is universal.

It is the genius of Leonardo
that he showed

that a life of obsession
with perfection

means producing little,

but the little he did produce
is absolutely breathtaking.

Today, we're all about
productivity, speed.

He was exactly the opposite.

Leonardo's inventions

are such a part of today's culture
and visual language

that we don't even notice anymore.

He's on signs for parking lots,

brand logos, jeans.

He can be used to sell
almost anything,

precisely because
he has this mythological allure.

Leonardo's charm echoes
through the centuries.

He's irresistible.

He's such a dense personality,

so profound, rounded.

When you study Leonardo,

you feel like he's still with us.

Leonardo da Vinci charmed
the most powerful princes on Earth.

His work changed art history forever.

His discoveries and inventions
were ahead of his time.

This Italian genius evoked
the admiration of the entire world

and created so much mystery
that we are still searching

to understand this divine man.

Yes, Leonardo da Vinci
was certainly almost divine,

making himself an omniscient creator.

We are still exploring
his unique world,

his sublime reality.

But beyond this inestimable legacy,

Leonardo, a mortal man,

may have revealed to us
something even more precious:

we can conquer time

by seizing the present
and appreciating its value.

And I'd like to close this program

with the words of Leonardo himself:

"Look at the light
and admire its beauty.

"Close your eyes and observe.

"What you saw is no more,

"and what you will see is not yet."

Thank you for watching,

I will see you very soon for
a new edition of Secrets of History.

Subtitling: Hiventy