# A Bear Walking

**Leonardo da Vinci** (Italian, 1452–1519)  
ca. 1482–85  
silverpoint on light buff prepared paper  
4 1/16 x 5 1/4 in. (10.3 x 13.3 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975.1.369. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/459184).

## 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 drew this in about 1482–85, aged about 25. It is now at The Met in New York.

### [Leonardo da Vinci](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/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._

## Facts

- Type: Drawings
- The artist was about 25
- Real size: about 4 × 5 in (10 × 13 cm). The original is small: even the 8 × 10 in print shows it larger than life.
- Century: 15th century
- Subjects: Bears
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1267.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1267/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/a-bear-walking-met-459184).