#RHINOCEROS MODEL SKIN#

The first known print of the rhinoceros is a rather primitive woodcut which illustrates a poem by Giovanni Giacomo Penni published in Rome in July 1515. It has been said of DГјrer's woodcut: 'probably no animal picture has exerted such a profound influence on the arts'. Eventually, it was supplanted by more realistic drawings and paintings, particularly those of Clara the rhinoceros, who toured Europe in the 1740s and 1750s. It was regarded by Westerners as a true representation of a rhinoceros into the late 18th century. Despite its anatomical inaccuracies, DГјrer's woodcut became very popular in Europe and was copied many times in the following three centuries.

#RHINOCEROS MODEL SKIN#

None of these features is present in a real rhinoceros, although the Indian rhinoceros does have deep folds in its skin that can look like armor from a distance. He places a small twisted horn on its back and gives it scaly legs and saw-like rear quarters. He depicts an animal with hard plates that cover its body like sheets of armour, with a gorget at the throat, a solid-looking breastplate, and what appear to be rivets along the seams. ДГјrer's woodcut is not an entirely accurate representation of a rhinoceros. A live rhinoceros was not seen again in Europe until a second specimen, named Abada, arrived from India at the court of Sebastian of Portugal in 1577, being later inherited by Philip II of Spain around 1580. In late 1515, the King of Portugal, Manuel I, sent the animal as a gift for Pope Leo X, but it died in a shipwreck off the coast of Italy in early 1516. DГјrer never saw the actual rhinoceros, which was the first living example seen in Europe since Roman times. The image is based on a written description and brief sketch by an unknown artist of an Indian rhinoceros that had arrived in Lisbon in 1515. This impression, National Gallery of Art, WashingtonДГјrer's Rhinoceros is the name commonly given to a woodcut executed by German painter and printmaker Albrecht DГјrer in 1515.

Rhinoceros model