The Rhinoceros
Medium
woodcut
Dimensions
23.8 × 30.1 cm
Classification
Department
Prints
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1993.9
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
male
About this artwork
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 a...