With curly golden locks and a perfectly-proportioned build, he moved with exquisite grace and is even rumored to be the model for his then-boss, Andrea del Verocchio’s bronze statue of David (pictured above). In a time when most Italian men wore tunics down to their feet, this prodigy wore his as provocatively and rebelliously as a Catholic schoolgirl: just above the knees. And that Mona Lisa smile everyone talks about today? It was first seen on his face. 500 years before social media, he was already an influencer. People all over Italy knew about this exceptional artist even before he had completed an actual commission. With aesthetic genius brimming over into every aspect of his life, his followers thought, he must be insanely great.
Well, that’s precisely what Leonardo Da Vinci wanted people to think. Proof that his public image was carefully cultivated can be found in his notebooks. Among pages and pages of wide-ranging notes and sketches, you’ll find a recipe for blonde hair dye and musings on how to appear more graceful or improve one’s gait. In fact, everything about his appearance—from the way he walked and spoke to how he dressed or curled his locks—was relentlessly rehearsed until it seemed effortlessly natural. Taken together, these seemingly trivial affectations form the magic that turned a middle-class boy from the sticks outside Florence into an artist so successful we are under his spell even to this day. While his genius with the brush is undeniable, what’s often overlooked is his mastery of a secret creatives need to understand more than ever: the power of personal branding.
Make Your Interests Relevant
Yes, Leonardo wouldn’t have achieved the heights he did without his enormous passion, curiosity, and talent, but many of his more prolific Renaissance colleagues had these qualities as well. While he did pioneer techniques that set his paintings apart from his peers, few people saw any of them until late in his career, or not at all since most of his paintings and sculptures remain unfinished. Even the Mona Lisa was never delivered during his lifetime, being found instead by his deathbed. Although Leonardo’s insanely detailed and inventive sketchbooks do reveal a mind more brilliant than his peers, they were mostly published after his death.
But Leonardo was no starving artist. Centuries before Andy Warhol, he had what he called his “factory”, a bustling studio that could afford to employ apprentices and skilled workmen. He was also renowned for his generosity, regularly hosting dinner parties for friends and acquaintances from all walks of life. All the while, he was able to indulge countless side interests, from studying how machines worked to what made birds fly to why babies don’t just look like tiny adults (if you want to see some portraits of hilarious fat little geezers, just google medieval baby paintings). How did he do it? By showing how his curiosities could be put to good use for his patrons. His knowledge of machinery translated into numerous special effects machines for the wealthy elite who sponsored public entertainments. His familiarity with winged creatures allowed him to create more convincing angels and demons for the stage. And his understanding of baby fat allowed him to paint way more convincing portraits of the baby Jesus (which no self-respecting member of the Italian bourgeoisie could do without).
Know Yourself, and Your Audience
While he didn’t exhibit many paintings during his lifetime, Leonardo really did love to paint. And that was the problem. He never considered them finished, always trying out new techniques, new paints and new ways to capture the complexities of a 3D world on a 2D canvas. Nor did he want to compromise his artistic integrity. Where other Florentine artists regularly flattered the city’s ruling bankers, the Medicis, by painting their likenesses onto the faces of heroes and saints, Leonardo stayed true to how he thought his subjects actually looked.
As a result, Leonardo didn’t win as many commissions. Realizing that his work didn’t resonate all that well with Republican oligarchs, he found a more receptive audience for his many talents: the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza.
Target Your Message
Knowing that the Duke had little use for a mere painter, Leonardo positioned himself as a military engineer. In his famous letter to the duke, he reframed the skills he’d used to create stagecraft and special effects into talents for creating portable bridges, covered vehicles and new kinds of cannon. Because he knew the Duke was a practical man, his painting abilities are mentioned almost as an aside. And he ends his letter with a guarantee:
And if any of the above-mentioned things seem impossible or impracticable to anyone, I am most readily disposed to demonstrate them in your park or in whatsoever place shall please Your Excellency, to whom I commend myself with all possible humility.
Clearly, Il Maestro didn’t just have many talents, he knew how to sell them too.
Collaborate Across Disciplines
But Leonardo also knew his own limits, which is why, among the studies of nature and the musings on how to behave, you’ll find notes to find out from his friends how this mechanical principle worked or how that mathematical conundrum could be solved. Leonardo may have seen himself as an artist, but that didn’t mean he could only think about paints and brushes. It didn’t mean he had to be hemmed in by that job description, either. He won his gig with the Duke of Milan by presenting himself as a military engineer. He ended up working mostly as a creative director. He was able to pull off these roles because he was always willing to work with others in order to overcome the obstacles that the job demanded. The Vitruvian Man, one of Leonardo’s most famous works, was part of a joint project with Luca Pacioli, the Divine Proportion. It didn’t matter if the person was an architect or a baker, if he knew what Leonardo wanted to learn, Leo would ask.
Build Your Community
From a very early age, Leonardo had fans. Being one of the most beautiful men in Florence guaranteed that. But it’s Leonardo’s generosity, his consideration for what people in his social circles wanted, that kept him in the public eye. While a vegetarian himself, Leonardo nonetheless bought meat, fish and poultry when throwing his many dinner parties. Parties where many of the best and brightest of whichever town or city Leonardo found himself in would gather to discuss art, culture and philosophy. In addition to amazing meals, Leonardo also amazed with his generosity, keeping notes on what people liked besides their culinary tastes so that he could give them incredible gifts. While we may not have the means to bring the city’s greatest minds into our dining rooms, the internet affords us the opportunity to communicate with the world’s best. So long as we find ways to target our messages and and make our interests relevant to theirs, we have a chance to collaborate with some truly fascinating people. And you don’t even have to buy and gut a bunch of animals in order to do it!
While we may not think much of today’s image-obsessed influencers and celebrities, convincing ourselves that all that matters is the work, the truth is that our image is part of the work. Leonardo understood this completely. Rather than choose to toil away in obscurity as a starving artist, Leonardo chose instead to stand out from his fellow artists. First by carrying his good taste into every aspect of his presentation, from his hair down to how he carried himself. Next by framing his interests in ways that would be relevant to whomever he needed help from. He also rejected the commandments of the specialist, scribbling away questions for his non-artistic friends and even collaborating with many of them to produce works unrelated to his painting. Lastly, he knew how to build a community, first with his wit, then with his attentiveness to others’ tastes. All lessons we would do well to apply to our own careers and lives. While we may not be as naturally gifted or beautiful as Leonardo, neither was Leonardo. Instead we’re better off realizing that everything takes work and practice, and that a well-cultivated personal brand is crucial to attaining success no matter who we are. And it’s never too late to start, whether we look like the young Leonardo, or the old one.
Leonardo Da Vinci’s self portrait in later life