The Elephant
c. 1485
Medium
Engraving on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 10.2 × 12.8 cm (4 1/16 × 5 1/16 in.); Sheet: 10.2 × 13 cm (4 1/16 × 5 1/8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
3997
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Martin Schongauer may have engraved his fantastical Griffin and his Elephant as a pair, given their similar scale. Although he may have had the opportunity to see a real elephant in 1483, this depiction is clearly inaccurate by modern standards. Nonetheless, by the mid-16th century, his print became the basis for scientific illustration in Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner’s 1551 book on animals. The two prints may also relate to Schongauer’s series of coats of arms with fanciful animals decoratin...
About the Artist
Martin Schongauer · 1435–1491
Martin Schongauer, born around 1450–1453 in Colmar, Alsace, emerged from a family of skilled artisans. The third of four or five sons of goldsmith Caspar Schongauer, who had relocated from Augsburg to Colmar around 1440, Martin was immersed in the goldsmith's trade from youth, likely receiving his initial training in his father's workshop—a common path for early engravers. He further honed his ski...