Why Did Leonardo da Vinci Draw So Many Cats?

Oct 19

3 min read

Updated: Oct 26

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Why Did Leonardo da Vinci Draw So Many Cats?

What a remarkable sheet of animal sketches reveals about Leonardo's study of movement.

Around 1517–1518, Leonardo da Vinci filled a sheet of paper with an extraordinary collection of animals. Domestic cats sleep, crouch, fight, and play. A lioness prowls through several poses, while a dragon twists its neck into an impossible position.

Known today as Cats, Lions, and a Dragon, the drawing contains more than twenty studies of felines. Preserved in the Royal Collection at Windsor, it offers a fascinating glimpse into Leonardo's investigations of animal anatomy and movement.

But why was Leonardo so interested in drawing cats?

Capturing Animals in Motion

Leonardo's feline studies demonstrate his ability to observe and record the natural world.

Some of the most detailed drawings depict sleeping cats. Their relaxed bodies allowed Leonardo to study their proportions, posture, and anatomy while they remained relatively still.

Other sketches capture considerably more movement. Cats wrestle with one another, crouch defensively, and arch their backs. In one particularly expressive study, a frightened cat stands with its back raised and fur bristling.

These rapidly changing poses presented a different artistic challenge. Unlike sleeping animals, fighting cats could not remain motionless while Leonardo carefully recorded their positions.

The Royal Collection suggests that Leonardo reconstructed these scenes from fleeting observations, relying on his understanding of feline anatomy to capture the movement.

The Secret Is in the Spine

A short, unfinished note at the bottom of the drawing reveals Leonardo's deeper interest.

He begins with the words: "Of flexion and extension"

He then identifies the lion as the foremost member of its species because of the flexibility of its spinal column. This observation helps explain the variety of positions represented across the sheet. Leonardo was examining how the spine enabled cats to bend, twist, stretch, and move. The drawings record different expressions of the same underlying anatomical structure.

The lioness provided another opportunity to explore these movements. Seven studies show the animal in various crouching and prowling positions.

Lions were familiar symbols of Florence and were kept near the Palazzo della Signoria. Whether Leonardo observed the particular lioness directly remains uncertain, but his drawings demonstrate a detailed understanding of the animal's proportions.

Why Is There a Dragon?

Among the carefully observed felines appears something unexpected: a dragon. Its body twists into an exaggerated curve, with its head bent backward over its shoulder.

Unlike the cats and lions, the dragon was not an animal Leonardo could observe in nature.Instead, it allowed him to extend his exploration of movement beyond the physical limitations of real anatomy.

The imaginary creature contrasts with the closely observed domestic cats while continuing the sheet's investigation of twisting and flexibility.

A Larger Investigation

Leonardo's interest in animal movement extended beyond this single drawing.

In Manuscript E, dating to approximately 1513–1514, he proposed writing a separate treatise examining the movements of four-footed animals, including humans during infancy.

Another surviving sheet, containing studies of horses and Saint George fighting a dragon, explores similar questions about bodily movement.

Although no completed treatise on animal movement survives, these drawings preserve aspects of Leonardo's investigation.

His cats were not simply charming subjects for an artist's sketchbook. They were opportunities to examine how living bodies worked.

More than five centuries later, the sheet remains remarkable for its combination of artistic skill, close observation, and anatomical curiosity.

And perhaps that is what makes Leonardo's cats so compelling. A sleeping animal, a playful struggle, or a sudden stretch could become the starting point for a much larger investigation into the natural world.

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