To what would Leonardo attribute his reputation as a great artist? What would he say in 1519 at the end of his life – about the secret of his success? First he might consider the kind of “art” at issue. He was the master of various arts. At the turn of the sixteenth century, the art of painting and the art of sculpture were still considered technical trades (artes techinae) whereas the art of poetry and the art of music were considered among the highly regarded liberal arts (artes liberales). But this mainly referred to the degree of difficulty of the art form: its level of noble accomplishment (virtù), or an individual’s “power of artistic genius” (artis ingenium), as noted by Marsilio Ficino in 1482. And in this virtuosity and artistic genius, most art forms of the Italian Renaissance had excelled in reputation. Though well known as a painter and draughtsman, Leonardo also earned praise from his contemporaries for his work as a sculptor, architect, interior designer, engineer, scientist, inventor, philosopher, musician, and a skilled writer of letters and technical books. For the Court of Milan (1482-99), he designed musical instruments, coats of arms, festival costumes, parade carriages, an elaborate mechanical stage set, and numerous useful as well as impractical machines. By 1508 at the age of 56 he had noted the completion of 120 illustrated books on widely differing topics, which are a mere fraction of his total contribution of writings and drawings by 1519.

He was known for projects of grand scale. Court poets praised his painted effigy of a giant equestrian monument. This would have stood nearly forty feet tall, as seen in Milan Cathedral in 1493. The galloping horse and its armoured rider, Francesco Sforza – the first Sforza Duke of Milan, were to be cast in bronze. According to Luca Pacioli, court mathematician and friend of Leonardo’s, the hollow bronze horse would weigh about seventy-five tons. Hailed for its unprecedented scale and grandeur, the monument was to stand above a pedestal of similar height, such that the group would be as tall as a modern six-story building. Moulds for the horse were still available after the 1499 French invasion and destruction of the giant effigy. The massive memorial would have been one of the ‘wonders of the world’ in its day.

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