id: 157205 accession number: 1993.9 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1993.9 updated: 2022-02-18 10:02:25.995000 The Rhinoceros, 1515. Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528). Woodcut; image: 23.8 x 30.1 cm (9 3/8 x 11 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1993.9 title: The Rhinoceros title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1515 creation date earliest: 1515 creation date latest: 1515 current location: creditline: John L. Severance Fund copyright: --- culture: Germany, 16th century technique: woodcut department: Prints collection: PR - Woodcut type: Print find spot: catalogue raisonne: Meder 273 --- CREATORS * Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528) - artist --- measurements: Image: 23.8 x 30.1 cm (9 3/8 x 11 7/8 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection opening date: 2003-08-17T00:00:00 Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 17-November 9, 2003). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Main Gallery Rotation (Gallery 114): December 30, 2013 - June 23, 2014. --- PROVENANCE Princes of Liechtenstein date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: In May 1515, the first rhinoceros since antiquity to reach Europe alive arrived in Lisbon, Portugal. The ruler of Gujarat, Sultan Muzafar II, presented the exotic beast to the governor of Portuguese India, Alfonso d’Albuquerque, who then sent it to King Manuel I. Later that year, the king sent the animal as a political gift to Pope Leo X. Sadly, the ship sank on its way to Italy, and the rhinoceros drowned. Dürer and his contemporaries were fascinated with discoveries of the natural world, and as the rhinoceros made its journey, reports of the animal spread across Europe. Although he never saw the rhinoceros himself, Dürer based his woodcut of the animal on a description and a sketch that was sent to Nuremberg. The Latin text at the top of the print describes the rhinoceros to be the color of a speckled tortoise, covered in thick plates, and so well armed that even an elephant could not fend it off. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1993.9/1993.9_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1993.9/1993.9_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1993.9/1993.9_full.tif