leonardo da vinci. julie romano produced -- giulio romano did this tapestry. she loved to have books in greek and latin on his shelves. he had been translated and reproduce. it was the very beginnings of publishing, if you would like, thanks to the king. >> francis i promoted a humanist philosophy. , muching ottoman leaders to the chagrin of his enemy, charles v. a was prompted to entrust mission of exploring the new world >> he was a contemporary of the era of great discoveries, but he also instigated them. he was passionate about that he collected armadillos, animal skulls. king francis saw himself as a civilizing force in the style of the roman emperors. when his military victories handled -- dwindled after the battle, he turned his focus to learning. he was an instigator of the french renaissance. >> for more on this king francis fraser residence, i am joined by a renaissance specialist in charge of the collections and heritage. thank you very much for being with us. can you tell us how this hunting lodge was turned into a veritable palace by king francis?

. >> it can not be a coincidence that you had not only a leonardo da vinci and michelangelo doing amazing work in florence during this particular time, but you had ghiberti and brunelleschi, and filippo lippi and all of these others. people were living each other's intellectual pockets-- they were sharing ideas. there was enough trust to share your ideas, but enough tension to create some sparks. >> reporter: competition, you mean? >> absolutely. all of these golden ages were competitive places. graham greene once famously said about switzerland, "500 years of peace and stability and what have they brought the world? the cuckoo clock." >> reporter: fractious but wealthy florence, by contrast, brought the world a painter we still know by one name, leonardo (the national gallery boasts america's only painting by him), and a rival with whom we're also on a first-name basis: michelangelo. >> michaelangelo and davinci michelangelo was younger and he was the upstart, he was threatening to leonardo but it brought out the best in both men, and that's often the case. >> reporter: i think the first

. >> i think he is the leonardo da vinci of our time. how things were made, how things operated, the mechanizationo of things. >> extraordinary mathematical structure on which this wonderful -- does is ignite the current of ideas about things that spill over way beyond what are conventionally called the confines of art. >> conrad is fearless. he has incredible energy that i sometimes think, my goodness, this young man, he never sleeps. ♪ best known for his mysterious mechanical sculptures, conrad shawcross first came to prominence in 2004 with his brilliantly original work, "the nervous system." in my: i spent 4 months room at creating this helix, forming into a rope very very slowly. it was very much a journey of m trying to understand time. rope can represent time, both linear and cyclical. one of the main highlights describe of the reliance on metaphors-- i was never trying to play around with whimsy. i wanted the machine to feel very rational. it was received incredibly well. there was nothing like this, the feeling that all of that