For his first non-American subject, documentary filmmaker Ken Burns chose Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci.

More than half a millennium after his death, Leonardo da Vinci is still one of the most well-known artists in the world. The rare artist who, when you name some of his most iconic paintings, most people will immediately picture the artwork in their minds: the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, his Vitruvian Man notebook sketches.

Ken Burns is dramatically changing direction with his monumental two-part PBS “Leonardo da Vinci” series: It is the first ever non-American subject he’s tackled.

NPR's Scott Detrow speaks with father and daughter filmmakers Ken Burns and Sarah Burns about their new two-part documentary "Leonardo da Vinci," which airs on PBS beginning on Monday.