The Rhinoceros

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Artist/Maker Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471 - 1528)

Date1515 (printed c. 1620)

MediumWoodcut

DimensionsSheet (trimmed within block): 8 11/16 × 11 7/8 in. (22.1 × 30.2 cm)

Credit LineGift of Omar S. Pound, Class of 1951

Object number1994.62

On view

DescriptionOver the course of his long and prolific career, Albrecht Dürer made approximately 250 woodcuts in addition to paintings, drawings, engravings, and etchings. His reputation was established with the publication of The Apocalypse in 1498—the first book in the Western tradition to be illustrated as well as published by the artist, containing fifteen large woodcuts depicting the Revelation of Saint John the Divine—and continued to grow as his prints spread throughout Europe. Dürer was naturally inquisitive and pursued experiments in and research on a number of subjects, including perspective and anatomy. In addition to such works as the Apocalypse, he published the books On Measurement, On Fortification, and On Human Proportion. The present woodcut depicts a one-horned Indian rhinoceros. Although the ancient Romans had been familiar with both the African and the Indian rhinoceros, it was not until 1515, with the publication of this print, that most Europeans became aware of the animal’s existence. On May 20, 1515, an actual rhinoceros had arrived in Portugal—a gift from Sultan Muzafar II of Cambay (Gujarat) to the governor of Portuguese India and the first member of its species to reach Europe alive since the third century. In a show of political diplomacy, the animal was regifted first to the king of Portugal, then to Pope Leo X. On its way to Rome, the rhinoceros died when the ship on which it was being transported sank in a storm. Dürer never saw the peripatetic rhinoceros and likely based his woodcut on an image and textual description that appeared on a broadsheet in Lisbon, although he exaggerated certain features, such as the animal’s armor-like hide, and added a spiral horn emerging from its back to reinforce its exoticism. Although anatomically incorrect, Dürer’s depiction became so iconic that it influenced popular opinion and artistic depictions of the rhinoceros for hundreds of years. Omar S. Pound, Class of 1951, the son of the artist Dorothy Shakespear and the poet Ezra Pound, Class of 1905, H1939, was a generous donor to the Emerson Gallery. Over the years, he gave the College numerous Old Master and Japanese prints along with works of British modernism, many of which had been passed down in his family. This particular print was donated in 1994. (SOURCE: Alcauskas, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES, HONORED TRADITIONS, 2017) from the 6th edition

Collections

Additional Details

Alternate Titles The Rhinoceros - "Man vintle te coope by Hendrick Hondius Plaetfnüder ins' Gravenhage."

Exhibition History 2024-2025
Clinton, NY. The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College. "Menagerie: Animals in Art from the Wellin Museum," September 7, 2024 –June 8, 2025 (no cat.).

2017
Clinton, NY (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College). "Innovative Approaches, Honored Traditions: The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Five Years, Highlights from the Permanent Collection," September 9 - December 10, 2017 (cat. no. 21, illus.);

2013
Clinton, NY (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College). "Affinity Atlas," October 6, 2012 - April 7, 2013 (brochure);

2007
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). September 2007 [on view for Prof. John McEnroe's art history class];

2004
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "Nuremberg 1493," February 28 - April 11, 2004 (no catalog).

Provenance 1985: Hamilton College (Fred L. Emerson Gallery), by gift of Omar S. Pound.

Markings Watermark: "[large single headed eagle]" at upper center left.

Published References Katherine D. Alcauskas, INNOVATIVE APPROACHES, HONORED TRADITIONS: THE RUTH AND ELMER WELLIN MUSEUM OF ART AT FIVE YEARS, HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION (Clinton, NY: Wellin Museum of Art, 2017), p. 82.

Signature Signed "1515 / RHINOCERVS / [AD monogram]" in block at upper right.

Inscribed "rare" at lower right corner in ink; "E" at lower right corner in ink; "Men vintse coope by Hendrick Hondius Plaetsnüder ins' Gravenhage" at lower center in typeset.