Portrait of a genius: Ken Burns on Leonardo da Vinci

Ever since he sewage a movie camera for his 17th birthday, Ken Burns has been making documentaries. Over nan years, he's created 36 documentary bid for PBS, each of them astir American history, from "The Civil War," "Baseball" and "Jazz," to "Prohibition," "The Vietnam War" and "Muhammad Ali."

Now, he's conscionable made his first task ever that's not astir an American subject: "Leonardo da Vinci." "It was conscionable getting to cognize 1 of nan astir incredibly absorbing quality beings who has ever walked nan Earth," Burns said. "And nan truth that he turns retired to beryllium arguably nan top creator and surely nan top intelligence of his property is, you know, other added."

Burns co-directed nan show pinch his daughter, Sarah Burns, and her husband, David McMahon.

To watch a trailer for nan documentary "Leonardo da Vinci" click connected nan video subordinate below:

The four-hour bid makes usage of nan astir 6,000 notebook pages Leonardo near behind, from studies successful specified disciplines arsenic earth science and physics, to his preparatory studies for his paintings. And past location are his to-do lists. What emerges is simply a image of a genius, who's not conscionable a painter, not conscionable a scientist, not conscionable an inventor.

"He wants to cognize everything astir everything," said Sarah Burns. "So, he's dissecting a cadaver because he wants to understand really nan bosom useful and really nan assemblage works, each towards creating a coating that is much life-like, much believable, much alive."

Ken Burns said nan "gigantic" measurement of root worldly asks basal basic questions: "Where did I travel from? Where americium I going? How does nan beingness work? I mean, these are things that occupied him each azygous infinitesimal of each azygous day."

What besides emerges is simply a man who seldom vanished anything. "There's less than 20 paintings that beryllium today, astir apt little than half of those are really finished, we think," said Sarah Burns.

Ken Burns says he doesn't judge it's a people of procrastination: "I deliberation things are near unfinished, aliases undelivered to patrons, because nan questions that he was asking of this activity for himself had been satisfied."

Sarah added, "Being willing successful truthful galore different things arsenic he was, there's ever nan adjacent thing, a caller question, thing other that comes on that takes distant his attention."

Two things DaVinci did finish, though, are among nan astir celebrated paintings ever made: "The Last Supper" and "Mona Lisa."

"'The Last Supper' was a very commonly painted taxable for Leonardo's time," said McMahon. "Leonardo discovers a wholly different point happening than astir different painters had. This is Christ telling his disciples that 1 of them is going to deny him. And he puts them successful groups. And so, 1 is putting his manus complete his eyes, different is reaching for a knife. And so, it becomes a coating that feels for illustration seconds unfolding. And it makes maine consciousness for illustration he would person been a filmmaker, today, had he lived successful our time."

Scenes from "The Last Supper," by Leonardo da Vinci. CBS News

"I deliberation he invents film," said Ken Burns. "There's a benignant of inherent dynamism and activity to it that's conscionable exquisite."

Of "Mona Lisa," Burns said, "In bid for him to beryllium a awesome painter, he has to understand nan circulatory system. He has to understand astir hair. He has to understand astir surface science and stone formations and mist and really ambiance works. And so, my wish is that cipher ever makes a joke astir her grin ever again! Because she is embodying nan full quality task successful that thing."

If you've ever edited photos aliases videos connected an iPhone aliases a Mac, you whitethorn already cognize 1 of Burns' favourite editing techniques: Zooming aliases panning crossed a still image, a process, he says, meant to "shake live thing that is two-dimensional."

But nan caller documentary, narrated by Keith David, introduces techniques that will beryllium very caller to Burns aficionados: divided screens that juxtapose aged and modern footage.

According to Sarah Burns, Leonardo da Vinci was a lateral thinker: "He made connections crossed each of these disciplines. Showing aggregate things connected surface astatine nan aforesaid clip was a measurement of, successful immoderate ways, visually illustrating Leonardo's thought process."

A split-screen dramatizes Leonardo da Vinci's fascination pinch nan physiology of bats.   PBS

Asked astir nan equilibrium of labour for nan project, Saran Burns said, "Dave and I are nan writers of this. And past erstwhile we person our script, we statesman our editing process. And that's erstwhile we get successful location each together and activity connected making it better, together. Occasionally, we disagree astir what that should be."

But Ken Burns doesn't automatically get nan last word: "No! That doesn't work," he said. "That doesn't lavation pinch collaboration."

"Leonardo da Vinci" airs connected PBS successful mid-November. It's nan communicative of a fascinating man and an astonishing life. "He could feel, I think, rather rightfully, that he had lived a fuller life than practically anybody I'd ever travel across, successful immoderate study, successful immoderate period. Period," said Burns.

WEB EXTRA: Ken Burns connected nan "incredibly modern" Leonardo da Vinci:

     
For much info:

• "Leonardo da Vinci" debuts connected PBS November 18
• kenburns.com
• Thank you to the American Museum of Natural History, New York City
• Clos Lucé, Val de Loire, France

      
Story produced by Jay Kernis. Editor: Emanuele Secci. 

     
See also: 

• The brilliant of Leonardo da Vinci ("Sunday Morning")
• BOOK EXCERPT: Walter Isaacson's "Leonardo da Vinci"
• WEB EXTRA: Leonardo da Vinci and Renaissance painting ("Sunday Morning")

       
More from Ken Burns:

• Ken Burns: "Baseball is simply a reflector of our country" ("Sunday Morning")
• Reappraising Ernest Hemingway ("Sunday Morning")
• America's failures successful consequence to nan Holocaust ("Sunday Morning")

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• Ken Burns
• Leonardo da Vinci