Image: National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
The National Museum of Western Art has highlighted ‘Allegory: Combat of Animals in Presence of a Man with a Shield’ in a 8 September 2026 post titled ‘An Allegory Related to Leonardo’s Drawing’.
The scene brings together a dragon, unicorn, leopard, lion, bear, boar and other animals in conflict. At the left is a man wearing a crown of oak leaves, holding a mirror-like object.
The museum frames the work through its relation to a drawing by Leonardo, rather than attributing the allegory itself to Leonardo. Its title foregrounds the combat of animals and the presence of the man with a shield, while the post draws attention to the oak-leaf crown and the object in his hand.
