# Study of the Madonna and Child with a Cat [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [LEONARDO da Vinci]() - Date: 1451-1500 - Technique: Pen and ink on paper, 281 x 199 mm ## Commentary Study of the Madonna and Child with a Cat c. 1478 Pen and ink on paper, 281 x 199 mm British Museum, London The compositional drawing is connected with the painting of the Benois Madonna, as indicated by the head of Mary and the sketched window in the background. Leonardo traced the composition from the rear side, worked out the mirror image version with additional variations, and then applied a wash. There is no record of a painting of this composition by Leonardo. The motif of the Madonna with a cat was later depicted in a student's painting that is now in the Brera in Milan. ## Related artworks - [Adoration of the Magi]() - [Allegory with wolf and eagle]() - [Anatomical studies \(larynx and leg\)]() - [Anatomical studies of a male shoulder]() - [Anatomical studies of the shoulder]() - [Anatomical studies]() - [Annunciation \(detail\)]() - [Annunciation \(detail\)]() - [Annunciation \(detail\)]() - [Annunciation \(detail\)]() - [Annunciation \(detail\)]() - [Annunciation \(detail\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()