The Rhinoceros

The Rhinoceros

Print

In a detailed and commanding woodcut, Dürer records the arrival in 1515 of the first rhinoceros in Europe since the third century A.D. (above). Although Dürer's depiction is captivating, it is not faithful to nature, and it had a profound impact on subsequent depictions of the rhinoceros in natural histories, paintings, and the decorative arts until the eighteenth century. This rival to nature will be shown along with a Bohemian interpretation of the fearsome animal rendered in tortoiseshell, coral, pearls, shells.

Albrecht Dürer (German, Nuremberg 1471–1528 Nuremberg)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

1515

Junius Spencer Morgan, 1919

Public Domain

Image: 8 3/8 x 11 5/8 in. (21.3 x 29.5 cm) trimmed to block line except at top
sheet: 9 3/8 x 11 3/4 in. (23.8 x 29.9 cm)

Woodcut

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/356497

The Metropolitan Museum of Art