The Rhinoceros

1515

Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

Printed with black lines on cream-white paper, a rhinoceros facing our right in profile fills this horizontal woodcut. The rhinoceros’s horn touches the border to the right and its hindquarters the left. Its left foot, farther from us, stands slightly ahead of its right hoof. Its front feet are close together and its head is lowered. Chunky, armor-like plates covering its body are patterned in some areas, especially on its legs and belly, with rings and dots, creating a mottled effect. The skin on its legs is scaly like a fish or reptile. A short, twisted, unicorn-like horn grows from between its shoulders, and the animal’s lower lip and the ear we see is fuzzy with short hairs. Near the upper right, in the corner near the animal's shoulders, the print is inscribed, “1515 RHINOCERVS.” Below, the artist’s initials appear as a monogram, with an upper case D tucked within the legs of an A. Five rows of tightly spaced German writing runs across the top edge of the paper, above the single-line border framing the animal. It reads, "Nach Christus gepurt. 1513. Jar. Adi. 1. May. Hat man dem groszmechtigen Kunig von Portugall Emanuell gen Lysabona pracht ausz India ein sollich lebendig Thier. Das nennen sie Rhinocerus. Das ist hye mit aller seiner gestalt Abconderfet. Es hat ein farb wie ein gespreckelte Schildtkrot. Und ist von dicken Schalen uberlegt fast fest. Und ist in der grösz als der Helfandt Aber nydertrechtiger von paynen und fast werhafftig. Es hat ein scharff starck Horn vorn auff der nasen Das Begyndt es albeg zu werzen wo es Bey staynen ist. Das dosig Thier ist des Helffantz todt feyndt. Der Helffandt furcht es fast ubel dann wo es In ankumbt so laufft Im das Thier mit dem kopff zwischen dye fordern payn und reyst den Helffandt unden am pauch auff un erwürgt In des mag er sich nit erwern. Dann das Thier ist also gewapent das Im der Helffandt nichts kan thun. Sie sagen auch das der Rhynocerus Schnell Fraydig und Listig sey."

Media Options

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The text at the top of this print states in German: “On 1 May 1513 was brought from India to the great and powerful king Emanuel of Portugal to Lisbon such a live animal called a rhinoceros.” As we can now tell from this intricately carved woodcut, the artist Albrecht Dürer never actually saw the animal. For one thing, his rhinoceros wears an amusing suit of chain mail and armor, like a medieval knight. The animal also has reptilian-like scales on its legs. Despite these inaccuracies, Dürer’s woodcut was accepted as the standard image of a rhinoceros until the 18th century.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to image): 23.5 x 29.8 cm (9 1/4 x 11 3/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1964.8.697

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 273

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Kupferstichkabinett, Kunstmuseum Basel (Lugt 222a). Lessing Julius Rosenwald [1891-1971], Philadelphia; gift to National Gallery of Art, 1964.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1998

  • A Collector's Cabinet, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1998, no. 68.

Bibliography

1932

  • Meder, Joseph. Dürer-Katalog; ein Handbuch über Albrecht Dürers Stiche, Radierungen, Holzschnitte, deren Zustände, Ausgaben und Wasserzeichen. Vienna: Verlag Gilhofer und Ranschburg, 1932. Reprint. New York: Da Capo Press, 1971.

1978

  • King, Marian. Adventures in Art: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1978: 30-31, pl. 9.

1998

  • Wheelock, Arthur K, Jr.. A Collector's Cabinet. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1998: no. 68.

2001

  • Schoch, Rainer, Mattihas Mende, and Anna Scherbaum. Albrecht Dürer: Das druckgraphische Werk. Munich, 2001: vol. 2: no. 241.

2024

  • Rookmaaker, Kees. The Rhinoceros of South Asia. Leiden, 2024: 38, no. 4.3.

Inscriptions

upper right, in block: 1515 / RHINOCERVS / AD [artist's monogram]; printed in letterpress above image: Nach Christus gepurt. 1513. Jar. Adi. 1. May. Hat man dem groszmechtigen Kunig von Portugall Emanuell gen Lysabona pracht ausz India / ein sollich lebendig Thier. Das nennen sie Rhinocerus. Das ist hye mit aller seiner gestalt Abconderfet. Es hat ein farb wie ein gespreckelte Schildtkrot. Und ist von dicken Schalen uberlegt fast fest. Und ist in der grösz als der Helfandt Aber nydertrechtiger von paynen / und fast werhafftig. Es hat ein scharff starck Horn vorn auff der nasen / Das Begyndt es albeg zu werzen wo es Bey staynen ist. Das dosig Thier ist des Helffantz todt feyndt. Der Helffandt furcht es fast ubel / dann wo es In ankumbt / so laufft Im das Thier mit dem kopff zwischen dye fordern payn / und reyst den Helffandt unden am pauch auff un erwürgt In / des mag er sich nit erwern. Dann das Thier ist also gewapent / das Im der Helffandt nichts kan thun. Sie sagen auch das der Rhynocerus Schnell / Fraydig und Listig sey. (On 1 May 1513 was brought from India to the great and powerful king Emanuel of Portugal to Lisbon such a live animal called a rhinoceros. It is represented here in its complete form. It has the color of a speckled tortoise and it is covered and well covered with thick plates. It is like an elephant in size, but lower on its legs and almost invulnerable. It has a strong sharp horn on the front of its nose which it always begins sharpening when it is near rocks. The obstinate animal is the elephant’s deadly enemy. The elephant is very frightened of it as, when it encounters it, it runs with its head down between its front legs and gores the stomach of the elephant and throttles it, and the elephant cannot fend it off. Because the animal is so well armed, there is nothing that the elephant can do to it. It is also said that the rhinoceros is fast, lively, and cunning. [translations by Susan Dackerman in "Prints and the Pursuit of Knowledge in Early Modern Europe." exh. cat., Harvard Art Museums, 2011, pp. 167-168.]

Watermarks

anchor in circle (Meder 171)

Wikidata ID

Q748518

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