An exploration of the life and work of the 15th-century polymath Leonardo da Vinci, Ken Burns' latest is also his first non-American subject. Set against the rich and dynamic backdrop of Renaissance Italy, at a time of skepticism and freethinking, regional war and religious upheaval, Leonardo brings the artist's towering achievements to life through his prolific personal notebooks, primary and secondary accounts of his life, and on-camera interviews with modern scholars, artists, engineers, inventors and admirers. As the filmmaker and Leonardo fan Guillermo del Toro says at the beginning of the film, "the modernity of Leonardo is that he understands that knowledge and imagination are intimately related."  

Co-directed and produced with Sarah Burns and David McMahon, Leonardo also marks a significant change in the team's filmmaking style, which includes using split screens with images, video and sound from different periods to further contextualize Leonardo's art and scientific explorations. The film looks at how the artist influenced and inspired future generations, and it finds in his soaring imagination and profound intellect the foundation for a conversation we are still having today: what is our relationship with nature and what does it mean to be human?

The film premieres on PBS on November 18, 2024. Part of the New Hampshire Humanities 50th Anniversary Celebration