Albrecht Durer Rhinoceros, 1515, woodcut, Germany

What

is a print?

• Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was the first self-conscious artistic genius in Northern Europe art: a painter, draughtsman, printmaker, and theoretician and would-be reformer of the arts. Dürer exploited the new printing technology to disperse cheap, mass produced prints throughout Europe.

• In so doing, Dürer combined self promotion and spiritual values, making him the first international superstar.

Self Portrait done at age 15

• Likened to Leonardo Da Vinci, who was prolific and looked outward, Dürer was just as determined to look inward and explore the mystery of the human soul.– Phelan, Joseph Masterful Leonardo

and Graphic Durer, ArtCyclopedia. Feb. 2003 http://www.artcyclopedia.com/feature-2003-02.html

•The ruler of Gujarat, Sultan Muzafar II (1511-26) had presented a rhinoceros to Alfonso d'Albuquerque, the governor of Portuguese India.

Albuquerque passed the gift on to Dom Manuel I, the king of Portugal. The rhinoceros travelled in a ship full of spices.

On arrival in Lisbon, Dom Manuel arranged for the rhinoceros to fight one of his elephants (according to Pliny the Elder's Historia Naturalis ('Natural History') (AD 77), the elephant and rhinoceros are bitter enemies). The elephant apparently turned and fled.

A description of the rhinoceros soon reached Nuremberg, presumably with sketches, from which Dürer prepared this drawing and woodcut.No rhinoceros had been seen in Europe for over 1000 years, so Dürer had to work solely from these reports.

-according to G. Bartrum (ed.), Albrecht Dürer and his legacy: (London and N.J., The British Museum Press

and Princeton University Press, 2002)

What does the inscription say?

• Does it relate to the woodcut?

"In the year 1515 1. May anno Domini one has brought Emanuel, the big and mighty king of Portugal, such an animal from India to Portugal. It is called Rhinozeros. It is illustrated here with all its likeness.It is colored like a speckled turtle. And it is covered by thick shells. And it has the size of an elephant, but short legs and it is well-fortified. It has a sharp, strong horn on the nose. Which is whetted, if it find stones somewhere.This animal is a deadly enemy of the elephant. The elephant is afraid of it, because if they meet, the rhinozeros runs through the forelegs of the elephant and disembowels the belly and kills him. The elephant is not able to protect himself at all, since the rhinozeros is so well armed, the elephant cannot do anything. It is being said, the rhinozeros is quick, brave, and sly."

How does this piece represent the time period?

Avoid these Use these

• “ I think”

• I don’t know

• It means nothing

• I don’t understand