Da Vinci’s Demons, a new original series airing on STARZ in April, shows us the artist and inventor Leonardo Da Vinci in a whole new light.
The series begins when da Vinci is in his mid-twenties, and the year is 1477. The show’s creator David S. Goyer has based the series on the missing pages of the famous Italian’s journals, which he was fortunate enough to access during a trip to the British Museum.
Goyer, co-writer of the Dark Knight Trilogy and writer of upcoming Man of Steel, also learned that within a year of da Vinci’s death, 7,000 of his 13,000 journal pages went missing. Da Vinci’s Demons attempts to fill in the gaps, and the existing entries serve as inspiration for the series. Of his visit to the British Museum Goyers says:
“Accessing some of Leonardo da Vinci’s own journal pages from the British Museum’s collection was inspiring to say the least. Even in another language and often, written backwards in da Vinci’s mirror handwriting, one can feel the remarkable influence of daVinci’s unparalleled genius. ‘Da Vinci’s Demons’ is an opportunity to delve into the gaps in history and imagine what this man may have been like and what he may have accomplished in his youth—what might have been in those 7,000 missing pages.”
Now, anyone is able to view the hundreds of pages of journal entries, since the British Library has put them online.
Leonardo da Vinci’s best known works include Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and The Vitruvian Man. He was undoubtedly a genius, far ahead of his time.
The STARZ Original series Da Vinci’s Demons premieres Friday, April 12th at 10pm et/pt.