The ancient and medieval sources of Leonardo da Vinci’s Bestiary

Abstract

Among Leonardo’s literary writings (fables, aphorisms, prophecies, witticism) there is also a Bestiary, written around 1494, which collects the description of 96 animals. In this paper I present the most important ancient and medieval sources, making an analytical comparison with the different texts used by Leonardo (texts that belonged to his library). By presenting the methods of use of his main sources (Pliny the Elder for zoological references, Cecco d’Ascoli’s L’Acerba for animal symbology and the Fiore di Virtù for morality), in addition, we may also identify Leonardo’s motivations in recording the different animals. The zoo-symbolic notions helped to enrich the perspective and range of expression as a painter: for this reason, the last part of the paper refers to some painting and sketches by Leonardo in which the animal representation evidently demonstrates this artistic purpose.