Abstract
Taking the perspective that leadership education is similar to art education created a bridge connecting the leadership education literature with the large and rich body of literature on art education and art history. A survey of the more prominent Renaissance art academies was employed to illuminate the education practices of that extraordinary time, and then consider whether these practices had application to modern day leadership education. Results directly challenged the efficacy of the skills approach to leadership education, affirmed the importance of the mentoring method, supported the communities of practice method as a powerful tool for leadership education, argued for the idea of a talent for leadership, proposed designing leadership games and simulations that included positive and negative consequences, and stressed the importance of creating college and university based leadership academies.