Astonishing inventions centuries ahead of their time. Paintings said to contain hidden messages. And sophisticated robots designed more than five centuries ago. Leonardo da Vinci is considered one of the most brilliant minds the world has ever known. But was there a secret to his profound intellect? Ancient Aliens s4e8: The Da Vinci Conspiracy, History 2012
He was an artist whose paintings have become priceless masterpieces. He was a genius whose inventions were centuries ahead of their time. Ancient Aliens s13s2: De Vinci’s Forbidden Codes
They believe that when considered in context with other examples of Da Vinci’s paintings, it contains part of a giant puzzle, one that when put together could reveal the secrets of the universe. ibid.
Mountains have a powerful effect on people. Mountains cloud your judgement. They heighten your emotions and intoxicate you. And in Renaissance times, the times we’re looking at, they intoxicated that especially disquieting Renaissance presence, Leonardo da Vinci. Waldemar Januszczak, The Renaissance Unchained IV: Hell, Snakes and Giants, BBC 2017
One look at his paintings tells you there was something strange about him, something peculiar and visionary. ibid.
The Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the world. And at £2.5 billion it’s also the most famous. Heists s1e5: Mona Lisa, Channel 5 2017
Just over a hundred years ago the Mona Lisa was snatched from the world’s most famous museum. The crime sent shock waves around the world and baffled the world’s greatest living detective. ibid.
The greatest art heist ever: August 22nd 1911. ibid.
Television has influenced our understanding of one of the true giants of the art world. He created a certain painting that you just might have heard of. Janina Ramirez, Art on the BBC: The Genius of Leonardo da Vinci, BBC 2018
Clark focuses less on Leonardo’s paintings and more on how his endless curiosity made him so much more than just a typical Renaissance artist. ibid.
Leonardo recorded his every thought in the form of sketches. ibid.
Leonardo’s combined skills as a dissector and draughtsman meant that he would glean insights that would not be observed again for hundreds of years. ibid.
Leonardo was now 65 years of age and in failing health. The Mona Lisa Myth, Sky Arts 2019
Six hundred anatomical drawings by Leonardo da Vinci bought by Arundel. Helen Rosslyn, Bought With Love: The Secret History of British Art Collections I: The Pioneers, BBC 2013
These are the stories of ten of the greatest paintings in the world. Great Paintings of the World with Andrew Marr s1e1: Mona Lisa, Channel 5 2020
The Louvre … 8 out of 10 people cuing are here to see just one thing: the Louvre’s most famous portrait, probably the world’s most famous portrait: the Mona Lisa. ibid.
Her gaze, her smile, that has kept the world mesmorised for decades … She is magnetic, she is captivating. ibid.
Christie’s are billing it as the greatest artistic rediscovery of the 21st century: Salvator Mundi is one of fewer than 20 known paintings by Leonardo da Vinci and the only one in private hands. Sent to auction by a Russian businessman who once owned one of the most expensive art collections ever assembled, this almost mystical work will be sold in Christie’s New York showrooms … $450.3 million. Auction, Sky Arts 2020
He was an artist who would take the world apart ... Leonardo da Vinci. Empires Special: Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance II: The Magnificent Medici, PBS 2004
Lorenzo decided to bring Michelangelo into his family. ibid.
Under Lorenzo, Florence had reached new heights of culture and sophistication. ibid.
They had begun to procure corpses from the city’s hospitals for ‘private research’. The pioneer of this controversial method was the city’s most talked about personality – Leonardo da Vinci. Empires Special: Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance III: The Medici Popes
Christie’s Auction House, New York: A painting, Salvator Mundi or Saviour of the World, goes under the hammer for $450 million. A newly discovered Leonardo da Vinci is snapped up by Saudi royalty. But as soon as this painting is sold many begin to question its authenticity. Conspiracies Decoded s1e4, DiscoveryPlus 2022
As early as 1500 Leonardo da Vinci was designing locks like this with mitre gates. Mark Williams, Industrial Revelations s1e1: Boom Time, Discovery 2002
Leonard da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Her appeal is not that she’s divine but that she’s human. Matthew Collings, This is Civilisation II: Feelings, BBC 2007
Florence, 1478: The ruling Medici family has been attacked by rivals in the city’s cathedral. The patriarch Lorenzo is injured. His brother is murdered. Renaissance: The Blood and the Beauty I, caption, BBC 2024
‘I knew that this world was not one of beauty and creation alone, but also of blood and betrayal.’ ibid. Michelangelo
Out of the turmoil, three men emerge who will change Western art for ever: Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael. ibid.
15th-century Florence is famous for banking, trade, and above all, the skill of its artists. ibid. narrator
In the Medici household, Michelangelo is schooled in radical new ideas. ibid.
Lorenzo identifies a Florentine artist down on his luck and looking for patronage. He is 23 years older than Michelangelo, and his name is Leonardo da Vinci. ibid.
Leonardo joins Sforza’s court in Milan and pleases his patron. ibid.
Michelangelo, 1492: Battle of the Centaurs. ibid.
Into the vacuum steps a religious zealot: Girolamo Savonarola. ibid.
‘Thus I left Florence, and made my way for the first time in my life to Rome.’ ibid. Michelangelo
Michelangelo 1496-97: Bacchus. ibid. caption
Michelangelo is out of work once again. ibid. narrator
Leonardo da Vinci, 1495-98: The Last Supper. ibid. caption
Savonarola: The Bomfire of the Vanities. ibid.
Michelangelo, 1498-99: Pietà. ibid.
Florence, 1501: At 26 Michelangelo is the rising star of Renaissance Italy. For 5 years he has been establishing himself as a talented sculpture in Italy. Renaissance: The Blood and the Beauty II
Also returning is the superstar artist of the day, Leonardo da Vinci. He’s been away in Milan building a dazzling reputation. ibid.
In these brutal times, rulers need money, military might, and masterpieces. ibid.
They torun on Savonarola, hang him, burn his body, and throw his remains in the river. ibid.
‘Nobody quite gets to the orbit of Leonardo da Vinci.’ ibid. biographer
Leonardo da Vinci, 1501-08: The Burlington House Cartoon. ibid.
‘And now I had the chance to prove him wrong with my David.’ iibid. Michelangelo
‘David totally changes the conception of sculpture.’ ibid. Gormley
With Michelangelo and Leonardo fixated on fighting each other, neither notices the new arrival of a disruptive threat to their reputations. 21-yearold Raphael Santi is a boy wonder. ibid.
Raphael, 1508: Combat of Nude Men. ibid.
Leonardo’s secret blend of oil and pigment fails to dry. The paint smears and his work is ruined. ibid.
As Florence declines, the fortunes of Rome are on the rise. ibid.
Everything now hangs in the balance for Michaelangelo. ibid.
‘Raphael wangled himself a small commission painting the walls of the Pope’s apartment.’ ibid. Michelangelo
Raphael, 1509-10: Disputation of the Holy Sacrament. ibid.