Decoding da Vinci | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS

Discover the science behind Leonardo da Vinci's masterpieces—and Mona Lisa's iconic smile. Leonardo da Vinci was a Renaissance genius who painted masterpieces and was an obsessive scientist and inventor, dreaming up complex machines centuries ahead of his time, including parachutes, armored tanks, hang gliders, and robots. On the 500th anniversary of his death, NOVA, with biographer Walter Isaacson, investigates the secrets of his success, exploring how his scientific curiosity—from dissections of cadavers to studies of optics—shaped his genius and helped him create perhaps the most famous painting of all time, the Mona Lisa. The documentary is divided into chapters: 00:00 Introduction, 04:47 How Did da Vinci Make a Perfect Painting?, 09:07 The Original Mona Lisa, 14:29 The Early Life of Leonardo da Vinci: Engineer, Scientist, Artist, 23:41 The Science of Painting: Restoring a da Vinci Masterpiece, 29:17 Modern Day Painters Using da Vinci’s Process, 32:24 Leonardo da Vinci’s Anatomical Accuracy, 39:36 Mona Lisa’s Smile: Do Our Eyes Trick Us?, 44:21 Shocking Result of the Restoration of Bacchus, 46:13 Digital Restoration of the Mona Lisa, 50:28 Conclusion.