Episodes
Episode | First Broadcast | Comments |
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01 | 20120827 | Leonardo and the Last Supper tells the fascinating story of what went on behind the scenes when Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint what became one of history's greatest masterpieces. Working as pictor et ingeniarius ducalis (duke's painter and engineer) for Lodovico Sforza, the de facto ruler of Milan, Leonardo was engrossed with a commission to create a monumental equestrian statue. But with unrest at home and abroad Lodovico had another use for the seventy five tons of bronze that his artist required. Read by Nigel Anthony and abridged and produced by Jane Marshall Productions. Producer: Jane Marshall. Early in 1495, Leonardo da Vinci began work on one of history's greatest masterpieces. |
02 | 20120828 | Despite his reputation in Milan, Leonardo da Vinci had reached his forties without having created a public masterpiece proportionate to his talents. His frustration at his lack of achievement was compounded when the seventy five tons of bronze he needed to complete a monumental equestrian statue, was requisitioned to be turned into weapons. And then Lodovico Sforza commissioned him to paint a wall in a Dominican refectory. Nigel Anthony reads from Leonardo and the Last Supper by Ross King. Abridged by Jane Marshall Productions Producer: Jane Marshall A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4. Despite his reputation by 1495, Leonardo da Vinci is frustrated at his lack of achievement |
03 | 20120829 | By the time he was commissioned to paint his 'Last Supper' in the refectory of the Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Leonardo da Vinci would have seen many representations of this famous scene in Florence and Milan. But he was never an artist to follow in others' footsteps and, typically, his approach to capturing one of the most dramatic passages in the Bible was unique. Nigel Anthony reads from Leonardo and the Last Supper by Ross King. Abridged by Jane Marshall Productions Producer: Jane Marshall A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4. Da Vinci sets about capturing one of the Bible's most dramatic scenes in paint and plaster |
04 | 20120830 | Whilst he was painting The Last Supper, Leonardo was living in the Corte Vecchia in Milan and, typically for this restless artist, he found many distractions from the job in hand. Surrounded by assistants and with a patron who had many other entertaining tasks for his 'pictor et ingeniarius' to complete, progress on his masterpiece was slow and more than a little experimental. Nigel Anthony reads from Leonardo and the Last Supper by Ross King. Abridged by Jane Marshall Productions Producer: Jane Marshall A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4. While he was painting the Last Supper, Leonardo found many distractions from the job. |
05 LAST | 20120831 | An eyewitness records the fitful progress that Leonardo was making on his masterpiece and the frustration of the prior of Santa Maria delle Grazie at the artist's capricious regime. But when his Last Supper was finally finished, the world came to wonder at this new marvel. Nigel Anthony reads from Leonardo and the Last Supper by Ross King. Abridged by Jane Marshall Productions Producer: Jane Marshall A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4. An eyewitness records the fitful progress that Leonardo was making on his masterpiece. |