Original subtitles

NARRATOR: He was an artist

whose paintings have become priceless masterpieces.

MATTHEW LANDRUS: Leonardo produced some of the world's

most recognizable paintings--

the Mona Lisa, the Last Supper,

the Lady with an Ermine.

NARRATOR: He was a genius

whose inventions were centuries ahead of their time.

GIORGIO TSOUKALOS: He drew construction plans

for tanks, for helicopters,

all sorts of wild things that came into reality

during our lifetime, right now.

NARRATOR: But there are those who believe

that Leonardo da Vinci was inspired

by an extraterrestrial intelligence,

that his paintings are embedded with secret knowledge

and contain codes which, when deciphered,

will provide the keys to unlocking the universe.

WILLIAM HENRY: I think da Vinci is trying to tell us

that there's a higher intelligence

that operates in our world.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

AUCTIONEER: And so, ladies and gentlemen,

we move to the Leonardo da Vinci, the Salvator Mundi,

the masterpiece by Leonardo of Christ the Savior,

previously in the collections of three kings of England.

NARRATOR: New York City.

November 15, 2017.

$370 million. Back to Francoise's clients...

at $370 million dollars, ladies and gentlemen.

MAN: 400.

-$400 million! -(gasping)

NARRATOR: At a Christie's auction

at Rockefeller Center,

Leonardo da Vinci's newly authenticated painting

Salvator Mundi

sells for a record-breaking $400 million.

-Sold. -The buyer is a Saudi prince,

representing the new Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi.

But why was a member of the Saudi royal family--

or anyone-- so willing to pay such an incredible price

for a work of art?

Leonardo da Vinci has captured the fascination

of so many people.

I really believe he was way ahead of his time.

But if Leonardo were alive today and realized

how much his paintings would go for, he'd go crazy.

(chuckles): It's a lot of money for a painting.

You ask yourself if there's another possibility.

NARRATOR: There are those who believe

that the Salvator Mundi

is much more than a priceless piece of Renaissance art.

They believe, when considered in context

with other examples of da Vinci's paintings,

that it contains a piece of a giant puzzle,

one that, when put together,

could reveal the secrets of the universe.

NARRATOR April 15, 1452.

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci,

the illegitimate child

of a nobleman and his maid, is born in Vinci, Italy.

If you were not entitled to take your father's name,

your last name just became the town you came from.

This probably aided his development.

The fact that he didn't belong

also meant that he wasn't caught up

in the official version of reality.

He was free enough to have his own ideas.

NARRATOR: When he was a teenager,

Leonardo settled in nearby Florence.

At that time, the city was a cultural mecca,

the beating heart of a classical revival

known as the Renaissance.

LANDRUS: The Renaissance is a resurgence

of new ideas and approaches and interests

in not only antiquity

but in the reinterpretation of the human condition.

It reinvents, really, the culture of the time.

NARRATOR: Leonardo received an informal education

in the studio of the renowned Florentine painter

Andrea del Verrocchio,

but was also largely self-taught.

Despite this--

or perhaps because of it--

he excelled at a staggering range of disciplines.

Da Vinci was way ahead of his time

during the period in which he lived.

He drew construction plans for tanks...

for helicopters, all sorts of wild things

that came into reality

during our lifetime, right now.

NARRATOR: In March 2018,

author and ancient astronaut theorist William Henry

traveled to Florence to learn more

about the Renaissance master.

He was also eager to find out, firsthand,

if there was any truth to the theory

that da Vinci hid secret messages in his paintings.

At the Piazzale Michelangelo, overlooking the city,

Henry met with Dr. Michael Kwakkelstein,

who has made it his life's work to discover

everything there is to know about Leonardo da Vinci.

I'm so excited to be here in Florence, home of Leonardo.

Yeah, you look around, you start to see

that these are what you see in Leonardo's paintings.

Absolutely. He took his inspiration

just from those hills, those trees.

500 years ago, Florence was, of course, a much smaller city.

-Right. -So just crossing the Arno

over there, you see the Ponte Vecchio,

-Yes. -Leonardo would find himself amidst nature

to study the fall of water or the movement of water,

-to study birds. -Leonardo created

just a prodigious volume of...

an explosion, really, of creativity.

What do we have left of his legacy?

Do we have a lot? A little?

Well, we have a dozen paintings.

Some of these paintings are unfinished.

Some of these paintings are in a bad state.

Uh, but we have his notebooks,

his manuscripts-- it's like a map

-of his mind, all these writings. -Wow.

You've personally been able to explore those notebooks

-and spent your life... -I'm still working on it.

It's a life work.

NARRATOR: But while Leonardo's genius

was highly regarded in his lifetime,

he was also highly scrutinized by the Roman Catholic Church,

which remained a powerful political force

throughout Italy and much of the world.

NOAH CHARNEY: During the Renaissance,

there was a rediscovery

of ancient classical documents that were stored in monasteries

after the dissolution of the Roman Empire.

Because of these new discoveries,

new ideas were circulating,

ideas from great minds like Plato,

Aristotle and Galen from the ancient world.

But these great ideas

often did not combine well with Christianity,

and Leonardo is someone who represents a point of conflict.

NARRATOR: It is this ancient knowledge

that has led many scholars and ancient astronaut theorists

to suggest that da Vinci, while Christian,

was also open to a wide range of spiritual philosophies.

Philosophies which, if revealed,

would have placed him in opposition

to the strict teachings of the Catholic Church,

and would have caused him to be publicly shunned as a heretic.

It's almost certain

that Leonardo had access to secret knowledge.

Leonardo was actually not, as a lot of people think today,

some kind of atheist.

Leonardo was a heretic.

He passionately believed

in something that was outside of the mainstream religion,

and therefore very dangerous.

NARRATOR: Florence, Italy. 2002.

Using infrared diagnostic techniques,

Dr. Maurizio Seracini uncovers the underdrawing,

or preliminary sketch,

done by Leonardo da Vinci for his unfinished painting

Adoration of the Magi.

Commissioned in 1481,

the work depicts the biblical story

of the three wise men visiting the infant Jesus in Bethlehem.

But by viewing the painting with this new technology,

it becomes apparent that Leonardo's original sketch

actually included many more details

than those that could be seen with just the naked eye.

The first time I aimed the camera,

the infrared camera, to the, uh, to the Adoration,

uh... I felt very privileged.

Because for the first time in 500 years,

I managed to see probably the best creativity effort

of Leonardo on a work of art.

And science can help you to go back,

like if you were in a time machine,

and I saw dozens of figures--

fighting horses, uh...

nature, architecture.

And now my eyes alone could not see them,

because they were covered

by a brownish monochrome layer of paint...

that later I understood

was not applied by Leonardo.

In the background of the top left,

you could see a couple of people

sitting in despair on stairs of a temple in ruins.

Well, aiming the camera at the scene,

then suddenly a completely different view came out.

The detail that was painted over

was a scene of a pagan temple

that was rising up through the ruins of a Christian church.

And this was considered problematic

during the Renaissance period with Christianity

as the one and only true religion.

NARRATOR: Upon close examination

of da Vinci's original sketch,

instead of a temple in ruins,

the artist seemed to be depicting a scenario

in which an Egyptian temple is being rebuilt.

Most notable is the fact that one of the temple columns

is capped by a lotus flower, which in ancient Egypt

represented the so-called, "Flower of Life."

CAROLINE CORY: The Flower of Life is the information

behind how the universe was created.

Everything in the universe is geometric.

Sacred geometry implies that there is intelligence behind it.

HENRY: It's believed by mystics to be a symbol

of advanced super consciousness,

a way of plugging into the knowledge

possessed by extraterrestrial beings.

Da Vinci, we can fairly say, was practically obsessed with it.

And one wonders if da Vinci actually tapped into

the ultimate cosmic secrets

represented by the Flower of Life.

NARRATOR: Cosmic secrets?

Sacred geometry?

Was Leonardo da Vinci encoding his paintings

with forbidden knowledge?

Ancient astronaut theorists say yes.

And they believe that knowledge may have been given to him

after direct contact with extraterrestrial beings.

NARRATOR: Recognized as a genius even in his lifetime,

Leonardo da Vinci has one of the most thoroughly recorded lives

of all the Renaissance artists.

Da Vinci was such a popular figure

that his life

was documented in great detail.

However, what's interesting is

that there are two years missing from his existence.

He basically disappeared off of the face of the earth.

NARRATOR: From 1476 to 1478,

Leonardo da Vinci's activities completely disappear

from the historical record.

The gap occurs when the artist was between 24 to 26 years old,

just at the point when he was beginning

to come into prominence.

So what could account for these missing years?

Ancient astronaut theorists point to a strange experience

the artist had while hiking near a cave.

It is one of the very few autobiographical anecdotes

da Vinci ever made in his personal journal.

He came across this cave.

And as he stood in front of it,

all of a sudden he felt drawn to go inside

in order to find out about the miracle

or the wonderment that's inside.

We don't know what happened inside this cave,

but it's quite possible that Leonardo da Vinci

actually encountered extraterrestrial teachers

who then gave him certain information.

And it's this knowledge, perhaps,

that made Leonardo da Vinci

the incredible genius that he was.

I'm not sure Leonardo da Vinci went to another world,

but I have a feeling that this guy, somehow,

through dreaming or going through some kind of dimension,

was able to see the future, our future.

CORY: Those we call geniuses, such as Leonardo da Vinci,

are able to discern and detect these codes

that are coming to them from these higher levels of reality

and utilize them in their work, in their art,

in their inventions

to improve this physical world that we live in.

Unlike other artists, Leonardo da Vinci

did not have to measure the ratios and the proportion.

It just came to him spontaneously.

He was tapping into something that allowed him

to bring down knowledge and information,

just like the ancient cultures did.

NARRATOR: Ancient astronaut theorists

suggest that further evidence

of Leonardo's contact with extraterrestrial intelligence

can be found by a close examination

of one of his most intriguing paintings,

The Virgin of the Rocks.

CHARNEY: The Virgin of the Rocks is really a showpiece

for some of Leonardo's special techniques,

including sfumato, which adds this hazy aura.

We see figures emerging from shadows into spot lighting

in a way that other artists of his time didn't do.

NARRATOR: In March 2018,

author and researcher William Henry

traveled to the outskirts of London.

There he met with da Vinci expert Lynn Picknett

in order to get her thoughts on this unique work of art.

I've just come from the National Gallery

and experienced The Virgin of the Rocks.

When you look at it, you're...

you're drawn into it.

-The colors, the setting... -PICKNETT: Mmm. Yeah.

-Yeah. -It's almost like it's just coming out of the wall

and you're stepping into it.

PICKNETT: Yeah, and also, there's a sense

of there's something lurking in it

that we don't really get,

that he's holding back a little.

NARRATOR: The Virgin of the Rocks

depicts the apocryphal story of an early meeting

between the infant Jesus and the infant John the Baptist

during the time

of the Holy Family's flight to Egypt.

PICKNETT: In this painting,

apparently what we have is the baby John the Baptist

kneeling to Jesus,

and the Virgin Mary's got her arm around John the Baptist.

And there's an archangel, who is Uriel.

And, you know,

so far, so good, you might think.

Except that the children are with their wrong protectors.

Oh.

PICKNETT: I mean, you would expect Jesus

-to be with his mother. -Mm-hmm.

And it so happens that Uriel

is traditionally John the Baptist's protector.

HENRY: Right.

Uriel is... has a big backstory

-with informing Noah about the flood. -Yes.

Archangel of wisdom.

Yeah, yeah. Wisdom is...

Yeah, that's important here.

-A celestial being coming from the heavens. -Yeah. Yeah.

NARRATOR: In one of the so-called lost chapters

of the Hebrew Bible known as the Book of Enoch,

the archangel Uriel guides Enoch,

the great-grandfather of Noah,

through Heaven, where he is taught

all the secrets and mysteries of the universe.

Is it possible that da Vinci knew

of this lost and some would say forbidden chapter of the Bible

and for this reason

deliberately included Uriel

as a way of sending a secret message

about what he believed to be the extraterrestrial source

of his incredible genius?

And there is, as you say,

-something very portal-like about this painting. -Mm-hmm.

HENRY: We just dropped a very important word,

as well: the word "portal."

-Oh, oh, yes. -It suggests to me that this painting

is a sort of portal that he's taking us into,

-where something very special is happening here. -Yes. Yes.

Maybe that explains why it's such an otherworldly,

-almost dreamlike scene. -Yeah.

The veil between this world and the other world.

NARRATOR: In his painting The Virgin of the Rocks,

did Leonardo da Vinci deliberately plant clues

that were intended for future generations to find?

Clues that gave insight into his belief

that much of mankind's knowledge

had profoundly extraterrestrial origins?

Leonardo was equally fascinated with backgrounds

as he was with figures in the foreground,

and one of the things that's so striking

about Virgin of the Rocks

is this very craggy, spooky, dramatic cavern

that provides the backdrop for the figures.

There are almost no other precedents

for this group of figures in this sort of location.

NARRATOR: Could it be

that Leonardo deliberately staged this scene

at the mouth of a cavern

in order to draw a link between the painting

and his earlier experience in the cave?

And by placing Jesus with the archangel Uriel,

was he indicating a belief that the archangel

was actually an extraterrestrial entity?

Da Vinci's inclusion of the archangel Uriel,

it makes you wonder if Leonardo may have had an experience

with the archangel Uriel,

who told him about humanity's future.

NARRATOR: Of the only 15 known paintings

attributed to Leonardo da Vinci,

is it possible that they all contain evidence

of the artist's belief

in so-called secret or forbidden knowledge?

And if so, might they also contain clues

that are intended to reveal

not only da Vinci's personal beliefs,

but a message that he was entrusted to convey

to future generations?

NARRATOR: Milan, Italy.

Housed in the monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie

is one of Leonardo da Vinci's most iconic paintings:

The Last Supper.

This imposing mural--

more than 15 feet tall and nearly 29 feet wide--

depicts the biblical moment when Jesus tells his disciples

that one of them will betray him.

It's a very poignant moment.

And the disciples are reacting to this statement,

many in horror.

To the left is Saint Bartholomew,

who seems to have leapt to his feet and hit the table

and is leaning towards Jesus in shock.

And third from right of Jesus in the middle is Saint Philip,

who seems to cave in with shock.

CHARNEY: What's interesting about this Last Supper

is it looks like a frozen moment of action.

If you imagine you have a remote control

and the scene is on pause and you were to unpause it,

all this movement would happen.

But at this frozen moment, you can really study

the actions and reactions of the people depicted.

NARRATOR: As with Leonardo's other works,

many researchers and ancient astronaut theorists

believe that this painting

contains hidden messages.

When we were writing Templar Revelation,

I looked at The Last Supper,

and I thought, "But wait a minute,

that's a woman, sitting next to Jesus."

NARRATOR: Sitting at the right hand of Jesus is a figure

that has long been assumed to represent the apostle John.

But unlike the other figures in the painting,

this one appears to have strikingly feminine features.

In his own Treatise on Painting,

Leonardo writes that women should always be depicted in art

with "their heads looking downwards,

and leaning a little on one side."

If you look at Jesus sitting at the center of the table,

leaning like that,

to one side, is the woman who, with Jesus,

forms a giant "M" shape,

presumably, a clue to her name: Mary, Mary Magdalene.

NARRATOR: In the Bible's New Testament,

Mary Magdalene is identified as a follower of Jesus

who witnesses both his crucifixion

and his resurrection,

but she was not reported to have been a participant

in what is called the Last Supper.

If that is true,

then why would Leonardo place her in his painting?

Did the artist have access to secret knowledge

about the true nature of the relationship

between Jesus and Mary Magdalene?

It seems that Leonardo was trying to point

to Mary Magdalene having been extremely close to Jesus.

We have them joined at the hip,

we have them wearing mirror image clothes.

GODFREY HARRIS: Jesus, as

a 30-year-old Jewish man of the time,

would've been very hard-pressed to be without a wife.

So, the theory is

that Mary Magdalene was, in fact, his wife.

But the Catholic church didn't want Jesus,

as the son of God, to have a wife.

They wanted him to be celibate, to be godlike,

and so cast Mary Magdalene as a prostitute,

rather than as a woman of importance.

NARRATOR: If Leonardo did indeed intend to depict Mary Magdalene

as the person sitting next to Jesus, what makes her inclusion

even more curious is an element of the story that seems

to have been deliberately omitted: Jesus's chalice,

otherwise known as the Holy Grail.

In the Bible, it says one of the reasons for the Last Supper

was for Jesus to instigate the communion.

His blood, represented by the wine on the table,

and his body, which was to be broken on the cross,

by the broken bread.

Now, there is no great glass,

or indeed, any particular glass of wine in front of Jesus,

which, in itself, is an enormous thing.

NARRATOR: According to legend, the Holy Grail

had magical, life-giving properties.

But there are some who insist

that an actual Grail never really existed.

Instead, they believe it was a symbol,

intended to represent Jesus's divine bloodline.

PICKNETT: Many people suggest that the Holy Grail

was the body of Mary Magdalene,

when she was pregnant with the child of herself and Jesus.

JONATHAN YOUNG: So this is goddess lore.

The Grail is a womb, and the true mystery,

the true, sacred story, is birth.

Human birth is the miracle.

CHILDRESS: Mary Magdalene,

according to a number of traditions,

actually was the wife of Jesus.

And she was pregnant with his children.

And in fact, these children will be special,

and carrying a special new type of DNA

for a new type of person on Earth.

And this is, literally, the Holy Grail.

NARRATOR: Did Leonardo da Vinci

have special, extraterrestrial knowledge?

Knowledge about mankind's origins that he encoded

in the form of secret messages within his paintings?

Ancient astronaut theorists say yes, and also suggest

that within his painting of The Last Supper

is yet another, even more profound code.

One that, when translated, will allow

direct communication with our alien ancestors.

NARRATOR: Lecce, Italy. 2003.

Based on a close examination of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks,

musician and scholar Giovanni Maria Pala begins to examine

one of the artist's most famous works, The Last Supper,

for evidence that da Vinci may have hidden

a musical composition in the now-iconic painting.

One of the intriguing theories about Last Supper,

that I actually think has some merit,

is that a scholar found musical notes.

One of the things to keep in mind is that

there's no such thing as an accidental,

or "just for the sake of it" insertion

in old master paintings.

Each aspect was carefully decided upon.

Leonardo definitely was a musician,

and he served the de' Medicis as a lyre player,

and as a singer for a number of years.

He played what we would call the organ.

Well, there was an organ in the church

where he was painting The Last Supper.

NARRATOR: In March 2018,

William Henry met up with Giovanni Maria Pala in Florence,

to find out more about his incredible theory.

Hi. I'm William, the translator.

HENRY: Pleasure to meet you, William.

-William Henry. Nice to see you. -Absolutely.

-William Henry. -I'm Giovanni.

-Nice to meet you. -Thank you.

HENRY: How did you come to find this evidence

that in his-- one of his famous frescos is a hidden melody?

(speaking Italian)

ROBERTS (translating): So the first thing

that really caught my attention was that this is

the, uh, tablecloth of the Holy Mass.

Right.

ROBERTS: And there are some vertical lines along here,

and also some horizontal lines,

which prove to be very important.

And as a musician, the first thing that came to mind

seeing these horizontal lines, was a musical pentagram.

Is the musical pentagram what we today would call

-a sheet of music? -Yes, that's exactly right.

So how did you bring this melody to life?

(speaking Italian)

ROBERTS: He says you can see here, the highlighted

-is these little pieces of bread, -HENRY: Right.

of which there are many all across the table here.

So he pinpointed the loaves of bread as being the notes.

(Pala speaking Italian)

ROBERTS: And another extremely important element that he noted

was the lines of the sheet were exactly aligned

with the hands of the apostles all across the table.

So the elements that really gave life to this music

are the loaves of bread

and the hands of the apostles.

-Okay. -(Pala speaking Italian)

We have to remember an important fact that Leonardo

had this peculiarity of writing from right to left.

So now let's, uh, let's give it a listen.

♪ ♪

People have suggested that through meditation,

chanting, and through vibration, essentially,

that you can access this realm of knowledge.

And this realm of knowledge is timeless.

-(horn blows) -LAYNE LITTLE: Not only does the sound have the power

to manifest all forms of phenomena,

it also has the power to manifest

how one perceives that very phenomena.

In both Hinduism and Buddhism, as well Jainism,

even religions such as Sikhism, you have specific mantras

that are tuned to these deities.

So these mantras are used

both to create a rapport, connection

with these deities, to summon them,

to help you manifest them.

NARRATOR: The idea that harmonic sounds

or music might be the ideal means of communication

with extraterrestrial beings was a key component

of NASA's Voyager program in 1977.

Originally designed as a pair of robotic probes

which could collect and send back important information

about the Earth's sister planets,

Voyagers 1 and 2

each carried a large golden disc

onto which various images and sounds were recorded.

The disc and its contents were the brainchild

of famed astronomer Carl Sagan, who worked closely

with space artist and science journalist John Lomberg.

I felt that art, visual arts and music

might be as legitimate a content of interstellar communication

as math and physics, which he thought interesting.

If they were to ask me

what to send to establish communication,

I'd send them music.

The mathematical relationships

that underlie most aesthetics,

and whether you're talking about intervals in music,

like harmony,

or whether you're talking about proportion in architecture

or painting,

these things are not things that we just conjure up

out of our own minds.

They're a reflection of the beautiful fractal nature

of the universe.

Did you ever see the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind?

Uh, si.

HENRY: The spaceship lands

at the Devils Tower, and it starts playing tones,

the language of the universe,

and it loops infinitely.

(speaks Italian)

The melody begins with an E.

(Pala speaks Italian)

And it ends with an E as well.

(Pala speaks Italian)

And it can be repeated,

um, pretty much infinitely.

NARRATOR: If Leonardo da Vinci

really did encode musical notes

within his painting of the Last Supper,

what was his purpose?

Was he trying to convey an important message to humanity

from another world?

Or... was he trying to teach humanity

the means by which it can communicate

with its extraterrestrial ancestors?

It is here, in what some would call an unlikely setting,

that the world's most expensive work of art,

Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi, will reside.

Established in November 2017,

this architectural marvel consists of a floating dome

created from a complex geometric design

of 7,800 interlocking stars

that cast beams of light into the space below.

Its appearance has been likened

to that of a giant flying saucer,

and the museum's architect, Jean Nouvel,

says his goal was to emphasize the fascination

generated by rare encounters.

TSOUKALOS: The museum looks like this giant disc

with thousands of stars.

Are they trying to signal something,

or is it purely an architectural choice?

NARRATOR: But why is this futuristic museum

considered by many ancient astronaut enthusiasts

to be the most appropriate setting

for what others would consider a traditional depiction

of Jesus Christ?

And what is it

about this 518-year-old Renaissance painting

that compelled its owner to pay such a record price?

$400 million is the bid.

And the piece is... sold!

(cheering)

I'm looking forward to seeing what we've got inside.

NARRATOR: During his meeting with art historian

Dr. Michael Kwakkelstein

at the Dutch University Institute for Art History

in March 2017,

ancient astronaut theorist and author William Henry

-Ah, there we go. -decided to share his thoughts

concerning da Vinci's recently discovered masterpiece.

He's got that lion-like gaze,

-just very powerful, staring directly at us. -Mesmerizing.

Mona Lisa smile, slightly.

But it's this crystal sphere that draws people in.

This, in fact, is the Cintamani Stone,

the wish-fulfilling gem of Tibetan Buddhism.

NARRATOR: The Cintamani Stone?

A legendary relic that appears

in many examples of Buddhist art?

But why would Leonardo da Vinci depict Jesus Christ

holding an orb that features a Buddhist symbol?

Gemani means "jewel,"

and chinta, in this case, is referring to "wishes."

It's the jewel that grants wishes.

If you look at deities like Ksitigarbha,

he actually is holding it in his hand,

and it looks like a little orb.

And he can travel through all the six realms

where various beings dwell.

NARRATOR: In Buddhist scripture, the Cintamani Stone

is often described as a wish-fulfilling crystal sphere

and is most often seen in the possession of a Bodhisattva,

or enlightened teacher.

Much like Jesus holding the orb in the Salvator Mundi painting,

the Bodhisattva is usually depicted

holding the Cintamani Stone in the palm of his hand.

But how would a 15th century Renaissance artist--

a Roman Catholic--

have known about a 10th-century Buddhist symbol?

And why would he have included it

in an otherwise traditional religious painting?

For William Henry, a key to the answer

may be found by noting the presence

of three simple white dots, or stars,

floating inside the transparent orb.

We have those triple dots on that sphere

that symbolize the three stars of Orion,

indicating that there's this cosmic connection

that they're trying to make.

NARRATOR: Orion?

The constellation that the ancient Egyptians believed

was the place of origin for the gods?

And whose three most prominent stars,

which form what is referred to as Orion's Belt,

are oriented in precise alignment

with not only the great pyramids of Egypt,

but also Teotihuacan in Mexico?

HENRY: The ancient Egyptians believed

that their gods, Osiris in particular,

came from Orion.

And that upon his resurrection from the Earth,

Osiris returned to Orion.

Is it possible that what this painting is showing

is that Jesus himself

is somehow from the constellation Orion,

and that that is ultimately where we,

as a human species, are from?

We have this very powerful connection

between the resurrection of Osiris, going to Orion,

and Christ ultimately returning from Orion.

When we look at Christ holding this crystalline orb,

it's trying to tell us that there's a...

a higher intelligence that operates in our world.

He tapped into it.

But ultimately he's saying,

there's a cosmic intelligence interwoven within human history.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that Leonardo da Vinci

was in possession of extraterrestrial knowledge?

Ancient astronaut theorists believe the answers can be found

by examining the artist's final

and perhaps most prophetic work of art,

one which many believe hides a startling portrait.

NARRATOR: Amboise, France. 1513.

At Château du Clos Lucé,

a 61-year-old Leonardo da Vinci

begins work on what will be his final painting.

Three years later, he completes his portrait

of an androgynous figure

emerging from a shadowy background--

Saint John the Baptist.

Picture this painting in a dimly lit chapel.

Before lighting the candle, you don't see anything.

-Right. -You light the candle,

and the light of the flame illuminates the painting,

and there emerges, against a dark background,

Saint John the Baptist.

And the pointing upward to heaven,

saying: I'm from the light,

I'm witnessing to the light.

He's pointing to another realm.

KWAKKELSTEIN: Oh, yes.

This is where divine wisdom comes from.

This is the source of everything.

The first words of Saint John are, "I saw the light.

-I will come to this Earth." -Wow.

PICKNETT: Leonardo was encoding

extraordinary secrets in his paintings.

He wanted to imbue his work

for the future generations with his own private message.

His paintings are like portals to another world,

where the real Leonardo inhabits.

But whether we're big enough

to accept what he has to say is quite another matter.

I think he had some very subtle messages he wanted to convey

to not the people of that time, but to the people of our time.

And we have to look for it.

Is he talking about extraterrestrials?

Is he talking about the future?

Investigators have recently found

some pretty astonishing things

about Leonardo da Vinci's painting John the Baptist.

And they mirror the image to create a double image,

and then through an enhancement process,

they are able to bring out what seems to be

the face of an extraterrestrial.

It's a pretty unusual thing,

and we know that da Vinci

did use this mirroring technique.

And so this isn't something that is so farfetched

that he would do.

Da Vinci is one of a long line of artists

who have told us, beginning with the ancient Egyptians

and running through the early Christians and Tibetans,

that art is a medium, it's a conduit

through which ordinary people can connect

with higher-dimensional beings, even extraterrestrials.

And I think this is the ultimate message

that Leonardo placed in the codes

and the symbols within his paintings.

NARRATOR: Did Leonardo da Vinci experience

an extraterrestrial encounter, one that opened his mind

to what was once considered forbidden knowledge?

Ancient astronaut theorists say yes,

and believe that da Vinci encoded his works in such a way

that future generations could learn the truth

about mankind's origins.

And that, when fully understood,

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