An alliance of European broadcasters is
developing a television series that will portray Leonardo da Vinci as
a gay outsider.
According to Variety, the
eight-part series is being developed by The Alliance, a group of
European broadcasters who have joined forces to counter the rise of
streaming networks such as Netflix and Amazon.
U.S. producer Frank Spotnitz (The
Man in the High Castle) and British writer Steve Thompson
(Sherlock) were recruited by Italy's RAI, a The Alliance
member, to develop Leonardo.
The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are
among Da Vinci's best known paintings. He's also credited with
conceptualizing the parachute, helicopter and tank.
“He was a real outsider for those
times,” said Eleonora Andreatta, head of drama at RAI. “He was
an illegitimate child, gay, vegetarian and left-handed.”
Andreatta said that the series will
look at the artist and inventor's life through the eyes of Caterina,
who was one of his models, which “will allow us to get inside his
soul and his secrets.”
“The personal and adventurous aspects
of his life prevail over the purely artistic ones,” she
added.
The English-language series is expected
to debut next year to mark the 500-year anniversary of Da Vinci's
death.