Today, Leonardo da Vinci is renowned
for being one of the Renaissance's most illustrious polymaths – but back in the
late 15th Century, the artist,
inventor and all-around genius still had to job hunt like the rest of us. And
yes, his resume was... intimidating.
"Before he was famous... Leonardo
da Vinci was an artificer, an armorer,
a maker of things that go 'boom'," writes Marc Cenedella, on his blog devoted to job searching and recruiting advice.
"And, like you, he had to put
together a resume to get his next gig. So in 1482, at the age of 30, he wrote
out a letter and a list of his capabilities
and sent it off to [Ludovico Sforza, regent, and later
Duke,] of Milan." (The letter, it
seems, made a lasting impression; Ludovico would become a longtime patron of da
Vinci's, and is remembered especially for commissioning The Last Supper.)
Included with daVinci's letter was a
silver lyre of his own creation, sculpted in the shape of a horse's head. He
references the lyre in item eleven of his missive, the translation of which
appears below (a digitized copy of the original letter, at the end of the post:
Most Illustrious Lord, Having now
sufficiently considered the specimens of all those who proclaim themselves
skilled contrivers of instruments of war, and that the invention and operation
of the said
instruments are nothing different from
those in common use: I shall endeavor, without prejudice to any one else, to
explain myself to your Excellency, showing your Lordship my secret, and then
offering them to your best pleasure and approbation to work with effect at
opportune moments on all those things which, in part, shall be briefly noted below.
1. I have a sort of extremely light and
strong bridges,
adapted to be most easily carried, and
with them you may pursue, and at
any time flee from the enemy; and
others, secure and indestructible by
fire and battle, easy and convenient to
lift and place. Also methods of
burning and destroying those of the
enemy.
2. I know how, when a
place is besieged, to take the water
out of the trenches, and make
endless variety of bridges, and covered
ways and ladders, and other
machines pertaining to such
expeditions.
3. If, by reason of the
height of the banks, or the strength of
the place and its position, it
is impossible, when besieging a place,
to avail oneself of the plan of
bombardment, I have methods for
destroying every rock or other fortress,
even if it were founded on a rock, etc.
4. Again, I have kinds of
mortars; most convenient and easy to
carry; and with these I can fling
small stones almost resembling a storm;
and with the smoke of these
cause great terror to the enemy, to his
great detriment and confusion.
5.
And if the fight should be at sea I
have kinds of many machines most
efficient for offense and defense; and
vessels which will resist the
attack of the largest guns and powder
and fumes.
6. I have means
by secret and tortuous mines and ways,
made without noise, to reach a
designated spot, even if it were needed
to pass under a trench or a
river.
7. I will make covered chariots, safe
and unattackable,
which, entering among the enemy with
their artillery, there is no body
of men so great but they would break
them. And behind these, infantry
could follow quite unhurt and without
any hindrance.
8. In case of need I will make big
guns, mortars, and light ordnance of fine and useful forms, out of the common
type.
9.
Where the operation of bombardment
might fail, I would contrive
catapults, mangonels, trabocchi, and
other machines of marvellous
efficacy and not in common use. And in
short, according to the variety
of cases, I can contrive various and
endless means of offense and
defense.
10. In times of peace I believe I can
give perfect
satisfaction and to the equal of any
other in architecture and the
composition of buildings public and
private; and in guiding water from
one place to another.
11. I can carry out sculpture in
marble,
bronze, or clay, and also I can do in
painting whatever may be done, as
well as any other, be he who he may.
Again, the bronze horse may be taken in
hand, which is to be to the immortal glory and eternal honor
of the prince your father of happy
memory, and of the illustrious house of Sforza.
And if any of the above-named things
seem to anyone to be impossible or not feasible, I am most ready to make the
experiment in your park, or in
whatever place may please your Excellency – to whom I
comment myself with the utmost
humility, etc. Humble, indeed. No, really. As Cenedella notes:
You'll notice [da Vinci] doesn't recite
past achievements. He doesn't mention the painting of the altarpiece for the
Chapel of St Bernard; he doesn't provide a laundry list of past bombs he's
built; he doesn't
cite his prior employment in artist Andrea
di Cione's studio. No, he does none of these things, because those are about his achievements, and not about the
Duke's needs.
Cenedella via Open Culture, h/t David Grann
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