As Leonardo begins, we are told that Leonardo Da Vinci’s greatest masterpiece has never been found and the reason for its disappearance has remained a mystery until now. Stefano Giraldi (Freddie Highmore) talks to Leonardo (Aidan Turner) while we see him searching through papers and sketches at home. Guards break into Leonard’s home and arrest him for murder. He is taken to the prison in Milan, Italy where he is quizzed by Stefano who wants to know about Caterina da Cremona (Matilda De Angelis). Stefano details the rumors that Leonardo fought with Caterina, she burned some of his paintings, and he poisoned her. He denies it though. Leonardo admits he knew Caterina’s contours better than his own and she was love before asking Stefano if he ever looks at the sky. He explains the air is invisible, yet the sky is stained blue.

Leonardo turns to Stefano while explaining Caterina was an enigma like the sky to him. Then, we jump back to Florence 16 years earlier as Caterina prepares for the next sketching session. When Alfonso (Andrew Knott) grabs her arm, she tells him not to touch her before quickly apologizing. Leonardo seems taken by the woman. When Verrocchio (Ginacarlo Giannini) arrives, he tells his students about Diana who was the goddess of the hunt and guardian of the underworld. They begin sketching her seconds later while Verrocchio gives them instructions regarding human anatomy. While working on his sketch, Leonardo notices a scar on Caterina’s back, and she immediately covers it with her long hair. Throughout the session, they glare at one another multiple times. Once they finish, Caterina asks Leonardo why he couldn’t draw her to which he responds she is worn, spoiled, and damaged.

He says they’re all born perfect but that gradually fades away and the hammer blows make them works of art. Leonardo knows she has worked her whole life since she has candle grease in her hair and calluses on her hands. Caterina asks if she wasn’t pretty enough to sketch so Leonardo quickly denies that. Leonardo explains she has a quality that makes her difficult to deny. Later, he sits with his friends who reveal Verrocchio is getting ready to pick a first apprentice. Marco (Gabriel Lo Giudice) asks Leonardo what is wrong and soon learns he didn’t finish his Diana. One man believes he is striving too hard for perfection. Leonardo quickly turns the conversation to the difference between sunlight and candlelight. Tommaso Masini (Alessandro Sperduti) and the others aren’t interested and would prefer to drink. Leonardo leaves his friends and sees Verrocchio’s paint pigments sitting on the table in another room.

He steps onto the balcony and sketches a group of birds in flight while imaging wings coming from Caterina’s back. Later, Tommaso approaches Leonardo and finds out he has made many sketches of Diana. Tommaso looks at the sketch and immediately realizes it doesn’t show Diana in her costume. He says she looks so real and like a peasant instead of a Goddess so Leonardo explains they were told to draw what they see. Tommaso apologizes and tells him he doesn’t want him to lose his position here. Next, Verrocchio looks over the students’ sketches of Diana. He forces one student to leave because his work is so bad. Tommaso is told he has good lines and form although it lacks heart. As for Leonardo, he gives Verrocchio a notebook full of blank papers. In a flashback, we see that Leonardo burned the sketch. He pretends he could not find the inspiration so Verrocchio wonders if he’d find it quicker if his belly was empty and he was slipping into the gutter.

Caterina goes to Alfonso in hopes of getting work only to be told she isn’t wanted. She immediately blames Leonardo for saying she was damaged but he denies it. He argues he still wants to draw her and would like to begin again. He gets her interest when he offers to pay her. She takes him back to her place before telling him that private sessions cost more. They agree to the terms before Caterina places her foot on the chair as she did previously. They exchange names before Leonardo tells her she is very beautiful despite how she suffers or perhaps because of it. She tells him he is weird and doesn’t like the others. Then, he admits he draws what he sees and not what he thinks the world wants to see.

He asks her to sit and lower the sheet from her shoulder. He moves her hair away from her scar, but she quickly puts it back and asks what he is doing. He apologizes before she admits she doesn’t want him telling that story or her scar in the drawing. Back at the school, Verrocchio tells his students that the Duomo is their newest commission, and he needs to install the 18-ton cross on top of its summit. Later that night, Leonardo’s friends try to find out where he is going every evening and suspect it could be a girl, but he doesn’t tell them. Leonardo watches as the staff member hides the key and grabs it when he is gone. Then, he goes to Caterina with the pigments and tells her he is going to use them to paint her. When she asks if sketching her is not enough, he says nothing is ever enough. Once Leonardo returns to school, he learns that Verrocchio is having trouble finding a way to get the cross onto the building’s summit.

He tells Leonardo it is his problem though. As Leonardo lays in bed that night, he has a revelation that it needs to be weightless. He returns to Verrocchio’s workshop and makes several tweaks to his plans. In the morning, Verrocchio finds out and believes that extra pulleys would help reduce the weight of the cross. Next, the group watches as the crane lifts the cross onto the building. Leonardo’s idea works and Verrocchio gets the credit. Leonardo takes Caterina to his favorite place which happens to be the water fountains. He explains he used to stare at peoples’ faces when he was a child because everything was so magical and wondrous back then. He goes on to say he has thousands of other questions about the fountains. She asks what he sees when he stares at faces to which he responds stories. He says every person has been on a journey and you can see it in their faces if you get close enough.

When she asks about her face, he says she looks strong, determined, and she wants a better life for herself. Leonardi adds that she has been hurt and doesn’t want to be hurt again. She asks him to tell his story but he rushes off after saying he has to go to work. Leonardo watches a father with his son and remembers his father riding away on a horse at a young age. By the time he returns to Caterina, she is angry because she looked at the painting and it shows her scar. She reminds him she was hurt, she doesn’t want to remember it, and she begged him not to paint it. She thought they were friends but now realizes he doesn’t have feelings and only cares about his art. Their argument ends when Leonardo says there are hundreds of models in Florence and he can get another. Alfonso confronts Leonardo and asks to see his bag as soon as he returns.

Verrocchio scolds Leonardo for stealing his pigments. Leonardo is asked if he has anything to say so he admits he wanted to paint something perfect. He is kicked out and forced to sleep on the street that night. Later, Caterina goes to the school looking for Leonardo with his painting. Instead, she ends up pushing past Alfonso and showing the painting to Verrocchio. An impressed Verrocchio decides to track down Leonardo with help from Caterina. Once he finds him, Verrocchio learns about Leonardo helping him with the cross on the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. He asks Leonardo to return with him and become his first apprentice. They arrive back together before Verrocchio tells him they have another commission from the Church of Saint-Salvi. He is shown a picture of the baptism of Christ that they’re going to be painting. Verrocchio wants Leonardo to paint beside him because he has the gift of an angel.

Tommaso doesn’t like this. Leonardo visits Caterina while she makes candles and tells her he is happy thanks to her. He confesses he has always felt like nothing until he met her, so she agrees to go celebrate with him. They go back to her place to share a drink in private. Caterina is confident Leonardo will own this town one day. She tells him to kiss her. She kisses him and they start getting undressed, but Leonardo stops it and says he doesn’t want this. He accuses her of doing this to become his mistress so he can take her out of there although she denies it. She kicks him out. Early one morning, Verrocchio wakes Leonardo up and takes him into another room for his first lesson. He begins telling him about the different types of light.

He demonstrates direct light and diffused light. Then, he takes him outside so he can see the third kind of light. Verrocchio reveals he has spent his life trying to capture the soft beauty of the sky but hasn’t been able to achieve his goal. Then, they go inside to learn about colors. They work on the newest commission together. Meanwhile, Tommaso meets Caterina and takes her out for a drink. She learns about Leonardo working with Verrocchio before admitting she doesn’t see him anymore. She believes she misinterpreted what was going on between them. That night, Leonardo works on the commission painting alone and decides to change the angel on the far left. Verrocchio is happy with it. Later, Leonardo’s colleagues tell him everyone is there for him. When he joins them, Verrocchio tells him an artist’s first triumph is one he will never forget. He approaches the commissioned painting as Ludovico Sforza (James D’Arcy) tells him it is remarkable.

He knows the angel on the left was painted by the left-handed first apprentice who happens to be Leonardo. Then, he wonders if the painting is a sign that Verrocchio is anointing Leonardo his successor. He invites Leonardo to come paint for him while offering to double his salary and give him his very own studio, but Leonardo turns it down since he is already working with Verrocchio. Sforza warns him he never offers twice what has been refused once. When the Duke of Milan steps out, Caterina approaches Leonardo and they discuss their first conversation there. He wants to tell her something, but Tommaso interrupts and takes her away before he can say anything. We jump forward in time to hear Stefano ask Leonardo why he killed Caterina although he denies it. Stefano says there are witnesses and everyone knows he is skilled in alchemy. Leonardo is asked about evidence. Then, he is told to convince Stefano, but he admits he can’t.

Stefano returns to Rinaldo Rossi (Massimo De Santis) who wants to know if Leonardo has confessed yet. Stefano knows he was caught red-handed, but he can’t understand how the greatest artist of his generation would be so stupid to murder someone like that. Rinaldo warns him he better find out and quick if he wants the promotion that has already been promised to him. He says he can’t expect the French governor to keep his promise if he embarrasses him by failing to get a confession from Leonardo. As he steps out of the room, he says he is going to make sure Leonardo hangs.

 

Leonardo Review

With the story of Leonardo da Vinci and Aidan Turner in its bag of tricks, Leonardo has the potential to be a fabulous exploration of the Old Master’s life. Couple the gorgeous scenery with the skillful camera work and Leonardo could easily match a da Vinci masterpiece. As for the opening episode, it was interesting, albeit a bit dull and longwinded. I question why the writers decided to take such extremes with the story instead of sticking to what little facts are known.

Will fans get lost in the chaos with so many side stories jumbled into the series? Ultimately, it is too early to say right now but it is easy to see it going either way. With a second season of Leonardo already announced, I anticipate it’ll get better as it goes on because it has to. It needs to break out of its shell and become something more than a mediocre, forgettable imagination of Leonardo da Vinci’s life. I sincerely hope it can do that. The opening episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Eventually, all recaps of Leonardo will be available on Reel Mockery here.