The latest documentary film by Ken Burns, his daughter Sarah Burns and her husband David McMahon is a portrait of an artist as a Renaissance man: Leonardo da Vinci. As the documentary, Leonardo da Vinci, illustrates, he was a man with infinite curiosity about the world and how it works. His passions and obsessions prompted him to study all manner of the world: from the human heart to the complexity of water; flying machines to weaponry. Through his paintings, drawings and writings, this documentary explores one of humankind’s most curious and innovative minds. Ken Burns and Sarah Burns join The Culture Show to discuss. “Leonardo da Vinci” airs on PBS November 18th and 19th.

From there graffiti artist Jeremy “Sobek” Harrison joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest mural "Return to Nature" in Dudley Square. “Return to Nature” is Sobek’s mixed medium eco-installation that creates an organic interaction between nature and humans. It’s located at The Food Project’s West Cottage Farm and Langdon Street Farms, 42 Langdon Street in Roxbury.

Finally, we get an overview of the new exhibition at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, “Manet: A Model Family.” Nearly 150 years since his passing, this is the first exhibition to explore Manet through the lens of the complex familial relationships between and amongst the artist and his sitters, shedding new light on the life and masterpieces of the “father of modernism.” The exhibition’s curator, Diana Seave Greenwald joins The Culture Show to talk about conceptualizing this show. “Manet: A Model Family,” is on view through January 20th.

November 7, 2024 - November 7, 2024 - Ken Burns and Sarah Burns, Graffiti artist Sobek, Manet at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

The Culture Show Podcast