Leonardo | |
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Genre | Historical drama |
Created by | |
Directed by | Dan Percival Alexis Sweet |
Starring |
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Composer | John Paesano |
Country of origin | Italy |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 8 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Running time | 52 minutes |
Production companies | Lux Vide Big Light Productions Rai Fiction Sony Pictures Television France Télévisions RTVE Alfresco Pictures |
Original release | |
Network | Rai 1 |
Release | 23 March 2021 – present |
Leonardo is a historical drama television series created by Frank Spotnitz and Steve Thompson. The series was produced by Italian Lux Vide in collaboration with Rai Fiction, Sony Pictures Entertainment, with Frank Spotnitz's Big Light Productions and Freddie Highmore's Alfresco Pictures in association with France Télévisions and RTVE. [1]
The series recounts Leonardo da Vinci's extraordinary life through the works that made him famous and through the stories hidden within those works, revealing little by little the inner torments of a man obsessed with attaining perfection.
In March 2021, it was announced that Leonardo would return for a second season. [2]
In October 2022 news emerged that Lux Vide, who made the renewal announcement, have been acquired by the Fremantle group. [3]
In 1506, Leonardo da Vinci, the most famous artist of his time, is accused of the murder of Caterina da Cremona. Questioned by Stefano Giraldi, an ambitious officer of the Duchy of Milan, Leonardo begins to tell his life, starting from the first meeting with Caterina in Andrea del Verrocchio's workshop. Giraldi, fascinated by the artist's personality, begins to suspect that Leonardo may be innocent and investigates to discover the truth.
No. | Title | Directed by [4] | Written by | Original air date | |
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1 | Episode 1 | Dan Percival | Frank Spotnitz, Steve Thompson | 23 March 2021 | |
Milan, 1506. Leonardo is arrested for poisoning Caterina de Cremona. After protesting his innocence to Stefano Giraldi, Leonardo remembers back to his days as an apprentice in Andrea del Verrocchio's studio, where he first meets Caterina. | |||||
2 | Episode 2 | Dan Percival | Frank Spotnitz | 23 March 2021 | |
With Leonardo's successes recognised and his reputation growing, a risky decision sets to destroy everything he has worked for. Leonardo receives support through new commissions (the Portrait of Ginevra de Benci and The Adoration of the Magi), but pays the price for his actions. | |||||
3 | Episode 3 | Dan Percival | Gabbie Asher | 30 March 2021 | |
Leonardo ventures to Milan with a determination to claim an offer of patronage from the Duke Regent, Ludovico Sforza. When the reality of the situation turns out to be less appealing and he is assigned to produce a big theatrical entertainment instead of a painting, a newfound relationship helps liberate Leonardo's imagination. | |||||
4 | Episode 4 | Dan Percival | Steve Thompson | 30 March 2021 | |
When Ludovico asks Leonardo to create a sculpture in honour of his father, Leonardo's ambitions rise as he tries to outperform. During the work, Leonardo finds himself in Gian Galeazzo Sforza, the young duke of Milan and puts trust in an unexpected source, Salaì, a resourceful thief. As he gets distracted from Caterina, Leonardo ends up in a race against time with a costly decision to make. | |||||
5 | Episode 5 | Alexis Sweet | Frank Spotnitz | 6 April 2021 | |
After the death of Ludovico's wife, he is given a new art commission but struggles with inner turmoil. After reflecting on wise words from Father Luca Pacioli, Leonardo seeks assistance from friends and presses on with the work, despite tensions in the city. Putting his creativity to the test and experimenting with a new technique, he must deal with the consequences of his actions and results. | |||||
6 | Episode 6 | Alexis Sweet | Steve Thompson | 6 April 2021 | |
Returning to Florence, an uninspired Leonardo accepts to paint the portrait of Lisa Gherardini, that will become the Mona Lisa. After failing to repair his relationship with Caterina, Leonardo goes to Imola, where he receives much praise from his employer, Cesare Borgia. | |||||
7 | Episode 7 | Dan Percival | Steve Thompson | 13 April 2021 | |
Reunited with Caterina, Leonardo perseveres with his work but is frustrated by the growing success of a younger artist, Michelangelo. Putting his feelings aside, Leonardo is persuaded to accept a new commission, a giant fresco of the Battle of Anghiari, but faces competition from his newfound rival. | |||||
8 | Episode 8 | Dan Percival | Frank Spotnitz | 13 April 2021 | |
Time is short as Stefano races to save Leonardo and uncovers his secret. With facts and no evidence, an epiphany leads Stefano going to a remote source for help. As the execution nears, Leonardo's life hangs by a thread. His guilt is upheld, and hope seems lost. Holding the fate of Milan's greatest artist in his hands, Stefano realises the answer he seeks lies in the man he is striving to save. |
The series premiered on 23 March 2021 on Rai 1. [5] In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the series aired on Amazon Prime Video, premiering 16 April 2021. [6] In India, the series premiered on SonyLIV on 9 April 2021. [7] It aired in Canada on 15 April on Telus, while in Spain, on 3 June on RTVE. In March 2022, The CW picked up the series in the United States; it premiered on 16 August 2022 as part of the network's summer programming slate in the 2021–22 television season. [8]
The producers openly declared that they had purposely moved away from historical reality to insert elements of fantasy, such as the story relating to the murder accusation of Leonardo and the character of Caterina da Cremona. Among the alterations to real events are: [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]
Isabella d'Este was the Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure.
The House of Sforza was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. Sforza rule began with the family's acquisition of the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century and ended with the death of the last member of the family's main branch, Francesco II Sforza, in 1535.
Ludovico Maria Sforza, also known as Ludovico il Moro, and called the "arbiter of Italy" by historian Francesco Guicciardini, was an Italian nobleman who ruled as the Duke of Milan from 1494 to 1499.
Cecilia Gallerani was the favourite and most celebrated of the many mistresses of Ludovico Sforza, known as Lodovico il Moro, Duke of Milan. She is best known as the subject of Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Lady with an Ermine. While posing for the painting, she invited Leonardo, who at the time was working as court artist for Sforza, to meetings at which Milanese intellectuals discussed philosophy and other subjects. Cecilia herself presided over these discussions.
Ginevra de' Benci is a portrait painting by Leonardo da Vinci of the 15th-century Florentine aristocrat Ginevra de' Benci. It was acquired by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. US from Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein in February 1967 for a record price for a painting of between $5 and $6 million. It is the only painting by Leonardo on public view in the Americas.
Lorenzo di Credi was an Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor best known for his paintings of religious subjects, and portraits. With some excursions to nearby cities, his whole life was spent in Florence. He is most famous for having worked in the studio of Andrea del Verrocchio at the same time as the young Leonardo da Vinci, who seems to have influenced his style considerably.
The Lady with an Ermine is a portrait painting widely attributed to the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. Dated to c. 1489–1491, the work is painted in oils on a panel of walnut wood. Its subject is Cecilia Gallerani, a mistress of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan; Leonardo was painter to the Sforza court in Milan at the time of its execution. It is the second of only four surviving portraits of women painted by Leonardo, the others being Ginevra de' Benci, La Belle Ferronnière and the Mona Lisa.
Isabella of Aragon, also known as Isabella of Naples, was by marriage Duchess of Milan and suo jure Duchess of Bari.
Gian Giacomo Trivulzio was an Italian aristocrat and condottiero who held several military commands during the Italian Wars.
The Portrait of a Musician is an unfinished painting widely attributed to the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to c. 1483–1487. Produced while Leonardo was in Milan, the work is painted in oils, and perhaps tempera, on a small panel of walnut wood. It is his only known male portrait painting, and the identity of its sitter has been closely debated among scholars.
Beatrice d'Este was Duchess of Bari and Milan by marriage to Ludovico Sforza. She was one of the most important personalities of the time and, despite her short life, she was a major player in Italian politics. A woman of culture, an important patron, a leader in fashion: alongside her illustrious husband she made Milan one of the greatest capitals of the European Renaissance. With her own determination and bellicose nature, she was the soul of the Milanese resistance against the enemy French during the first of the Italian Wars, when her intervention was able to repel the threats of the Duke of Orléans, who was on the verge of conquering Milan.
Lucrezia Crivelli was a mistress of Ludovico Sforza "il Moro", Duke of Milan. She was the mother of Sforza's son, Giovanni Paolo I Sforza, Marquess of Caravaggio. Crivelli has been thought to be the subject of Leonardo da Vinci's painting, La belle ferronnière.
Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis was an Italian Renaissance painter, illuminator and designer of coins active in Milan. Ambrogio gained a reputation as a portraitist, including as a painter of miniatures, at the court of Ludovico Sforza.
Bernardo Bellincioni (1452–1492) was an Italian poet, who began his career in the court of Lorenzo the Magnificent in Florence. In 1483 he was at the Gonzaga court and in 1485 he moved to Milan, where he was the court poet of Ludovico Sforza, the patron of Leonardo da Vinci. He wrote eulogistic sonnets addressed to his patrons and engaged in the usual literary squabbles with other poets, some in the burlesque manner established by Domenico Burchiello, that are a characteristic of the Italian Renaissance.
La Vita di Leonardo Da Vinci — in English, The Life of Leonardo da Vinci — is a 1971 Italian television miniseries dramatizing the life of the Italian Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519).
Leonardo's Horse is a project for a bronze sculpture that was commissioned from Leonardo da Vinci in 1482 by the Duke of Milan Ludovico il Moro, but never completed. It was intended to be the largest equestrian statue in the world, a monument to the duke's father Francesco Sforza. Leonardo did extensive preparatory work for it but produced only a large clay model, which was later destroyed.
Galeazzo da Sanseverino, known as the son of Fortuna, was an Italian-French condottiere and Grand Écuyer de France; Marquis of Bobbio, Count of Caiazzo, Castel San Giovanni, Val Tidone and Voghera. He was first the favorite of Ludovico il Moro and Beatrice d'Este, then of Louis XII and Francis I of France, as well as a sworn enemy of Gian Giacomo Trivulzio.
On the other hand the Duke of Milan
called and gave the general cane
to Maria Galeazo, and captain
did it of his people on the saddle,
who riding then from hand to hand,
with the banner in the wind of the snake,
honor and glory of Lombardy,
with many great gentlemen in company.
The Visconti-Sforza Castle is a mediaeval castle located in the centre of the city of Vigevano, Lombardy, Northern Italy. In the 14th and 15th centuries, members of the Visconti and Sforza houses, lords and dukes of Milan, transformed a previous fortification into a vast family resort. The castle was part of a wider plan of urban development for Vigevano, which included the erection of other buildings and the construction of the central Piazza Ducale.
The Visconti Castle of Pavia is a medieval castle in Pavia, Lombardy, Northern Italy. It was built after 1360 in a few years by Galeazzo II Visconti, Lord of Milan, and used as a sovereign residence by him and his son Gian Galeazzo, first duke of Milan. Its wide dimensions induced Petrarch, who visited Pavia in the fall of 1365, to call it "an enormous palace in the citadel, a truly remarkable and costly structure". Adjacent to the castle, the Visconti created a vast walled park that reached the Certosa di Pavia, a Carthusian monastery founded in 1396 by the Visconti as well and located about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) to the north.
The Italian Renaissance in Lombardy, in the Duchy of Milan in the mid-15th century, started in the International Lombard Gothic period and gave way to Lombard humanism with the passage of power between the Visconti and Sforza families. In the second half of the 15th century the Lombard artistic scene developed without disruption, with influences gradually linked to Florentine, Ferrarese, and Paduan styles. With the arrival of Bramante (1479) and Leonardo da Vinci (1482), Milan reached absolute artistic heights in the Italian and European panorama, while still demonstrating the possibilities of coexistence between the artistic avant-garde and the Gothic substratum.