Rembrandt’s rare 400-year-old lion drawing goes up for auction

A rare drawing by Rembrandt is heading to auction, expected to fetch up to $20 million. The small work, Young Lion Resting, was created between 1638 and 1642 and is the artist’s only animal drawing still in private hands.

Its current owner, collector Thomas Kaplan, is selling it to raise funds for Panthera, the wild cat conservation charity he founded. Measuring just 11.5 by 15 centimetres, the sketch captures the calm strength of a lion with striking precision.

Experts say it reflects Rembrandt’s most energetic period, when he was experimenting boldly with light and movement.

The sale could bring a major boost to efforts protecting endangered species such as lions, leopards and jaguars. For Kaplan, it is a way of letting one lion help save many others.