Some time in the 1480s (experts tend to agree with 1483/84, at which point he was approximately 32-years-old) Leonardo da Vinci applied for a job at the court of Ludovico Sforza, the then de facto ruler of Milan. He did so by way of the following application letter — essentially a fascinating CV which, in an effort to appeal to Sforza’s needs at the time, is dominated by his undeniably impressive military engineering skills and doesn’t even hint at his artistic genius until the end.
Da Vinci’s efforts paid off, and he was eventually employed. A decade later, it was Sforza who commissioned him to paint The Last Supper.
3. Also, if one cannot, when besieging a terrain, proceed by bombardment either because of the height of the glacis or the strength of its situation and location, I have methods for destroying every fortress or other stranglehold unless it has been founded upon a rock or so forth.
4. I have also types of cannon, most convenient and easily portable, with which to hurl small stones almost like a hail-storm; and the smoke from the cannon will instil a great fear in the enemy on account of the grave damage and confusion.
And at the very end of the list:
Also I can execute sculpture in marble, bronze and clay. Likewise in painting, I can do everything possible as well as any other, whosoever he may be.
via Kottke
Full resume/original source here
