Leonardo da Vinci is not just the most famous and most admired of all painters - he is an icon, a superstar. Yet, the man himself remains elusive. Accounts during his lifetime describe a man too handsome, too strong, too perfect to be accurate.
But in 2008, the chance discovery in the South of Italy of an ancient portrait with strangely familiar features takes the art world by storm. Could this be an unknown self-portrait by Leonardo da Vinci? Controversy erupts among the experts. The implications of such a discovery have far-reaching consequences for our understanding of the work of this great Renaissance master.
Like a CSI of art, Leonardo: The Mystery of the Lost Portrait brings us to the heart of an extensive investigation involving world-renowned experts, art historians, scientists and even police detectives. The newest, most innovative scientific techniques plunge us back 600 years into the life of the greatest master of Italian Renaissance. Like a passing through the mirror, we will recreate the probable events surrounding the creation of his portrait, in the brilliant and decadent Florence of the Quattrocento, living its last moments of artistic glory.
Direction: Luca Trovellesi Cesana & Flore Kosinetz
Production: ZED & Sydonia Production for ARTE France
With the support of Creative Europe - Media Programme of the European Union
History Film Festival
Scientific Film Festival (Reunion Island)
The Archaeology Channel International Film Festival