Leonardo da Vinci fact or fiction as Aidan Turner to play legendary artist in Amazon Prime series
The Mona Lisa, the Vitruvian Man and The Last Supper are just three of his instantly recognisable pieces, but over the course of his life there were countless drawings, paintings and other contributions
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By Paul Hirons 3.0 out of 5 star rating
There’s just something about medieval dramas set in Italy that TV people just can’t stay away from. Maybe it’s the whispered plotting in candlelit corridors, the industrial-level lust for power, or the gorgeous opulence of the era that attracts them. Or perhaps it’s the tunic-ripping, bodice-popping rumpy-pumpy that is a given in these period dramas that makes them such sure-fire hits.
Most recently, Medici and The Borgias have explored these themes, and now Amazon Prime jumps onto the Renaissance gondola with this eight-part series chronicling the life of arguably the period’s most famous figure – Leonardo da Vinci.
Poldark star Aidan Turner has said he does not use social media platforms because he has no interest in being judged by strangers.
The actor, 37, was speaking ahead of Leonardo launching on Amazon Prime Video, in which he plays Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci.
The eight-part series explores what made the Renaissance painter, architect and inventor famous.
Turner, who bid farewell to his other famous small screen character, Captain Ross Poldark, in 2019, told the PA news agency: “You know, Leonardo, a very famous artist at the time – there’s only so many people who can get into a gallery to see a piece of work, or to have it with them and these days, there’s Instagram, there’s whatever for an artist, and your work is judged on a global level immediately. It’s difficult.
He designed bridges, submarines, helicopters, bicycles on paper at least centuries before they were built.
He had an unrivalled understanding of the human body, thanks to spending thousands of hours dissecting corpses.
He was a brilliant musician who designed his own instruments, an avid reader, an accomplished astronomer and archaeologist.
Oh yes, and he was a rather talented artist.
Famously, in an application to the Duke of Milan for a job as an engineer designing bridges, weapons, armoured vehicles and public buildings, it was only in the 11th paragraph that he mentioned his artistic ability.
‘Likewise in painting, I can do everything possible,’ he wrote.
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