More

We use some essential cookies to make this website work. We'd like to set other cookies to remember your settings, measure website use and inform our marketing. We also use content from other sites in our pages, and those sites may also set cookies. More information can be found in our cookies policy.

4 The Rhinoceros

German Renaissance master Albrecht Dürer was the epitome of the Renaissance man, undertaking numerous journeys from his base in his hometown of Nuremberg. Dürer visited Italy twice and incorporated the techniques and styles he learned there into his own work. Conversely, his sophisticated printmaking techniques had an immense influence on the artists of Italy. The woodcut print The Rhinoceros is an excellent example of his outstanding abilities.

At first glance, the rhinoceros seems very realistic, but there are details in the figure that differ significantly from the actual animal, from the small horn growing out of its back to the armor-like skin. The truth is that Dürer never laid eyes on an actual rhinoceros. He used his imagination to create this lifelike depiction based only on a written account and a sketch of a rhinoceros transported from India to Lisbon as a gift for the king of Portugal in 1515. This print instantly became popular, and was reprinted seven times after Dürer’s death. The image was adopted as an illustration used alongside descriptions of rhinoceroses in natural history texts throughout Europe. Some of those texts were even brought to Japan in the latter half of the eighteenth century.