A Bear Walkingca. 1482–85
A bear lumbers forward on all fours, drawn in silverpoint on prepared paper with fine, patient strokes that describe its fur, its heavy paws and the shifting weight of its body. More about this work
About this work
A bear lumbers forward on all fours, drawn in silverpoint on prepared paper with fine, patient strokes that describe its fur, its heavy paws and the shifting weight of its body. Leonardo made the study in the early 1480s as part of his lifelong curiosity about the anatomy and movement of living things. Silverpoint, which leaves a faint metallic line that cannot be erased, demanded precision and confidence; here it records the animal with a naturalist’s eye.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Leonardo da Vinci
Italian, 1452–1519 · Born in Vinci; died in Amboise.
Leonardo trained in Florence in the studio of Andrea del Verrocchio and spent much of his career in Milan in the service of Ludovico Sforza, where he painted The Last Supper. Painter, engineer, anatomist and student of nature, he left relatively few finished paintings, among them the Mona Lisa, but thousands of notebook pages and drawings on every subject. His soft modelling of light and shade, called sfumato, transformed painting. He died in France at Amboise, a guest of Francis I.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Met has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1975.1.369
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Drawings
- Department
- Robert Lehman Collection
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
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