broadside; print

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Object Type: broadside; print
Museum number: 1895,0122.714
Title: Object: Rhinocerus (Rhinoceros)
Description: First edition of a broadside on a rhinoceros; with a woodcut of a rhinoceros standing in profile to the right, and five lines letterpress above. 1515 Woodcut and letterpress
Producer name
School/style
Production date: 1515
Materials
Technique: woodcut; letterpress
Dimensions: Height: 248 millimetres (whole sheet); Height: 212 millimetres (woodcut); Width: 317 millimetres (whole sheet); Width: 296 millimetres (woodcut)
$Inscriptions
Curator's comments: Dürer’s famous woodcut records the arrival of the first rhinoceros to reach Europe alive since the third century AD. It had been presented by the ruler of Gujarat, Sultan Muzafar II, to the governor of Portugese India, Alfonso d'Albuquerque, who sent it on to King Manuel I in Lisbon, where it arrived on 20 May, 1515. The appearance of a creature as exotic as this was the subject of massive interest, and Dürer's print turned out to be one of the most influential images in the history of western art; but Dürer never saw the animal himself. It is very likely that he based his design on a description in a Portugese newsletter that was sent to Nuremberg accompanied by some sort of sketch. His original drawing for the woodcut was in the collection of Sir Hans Sloane and is now in the British Museum (see Sl,5218.161). The text, translated in full here, is also closely based on Dürer’s inscription underneath the drawing. This impression of the woodcut comes from the first edition of 1515, which was the only one to be printed in Dürer’s lifetime. Seven editions were printed from the block, the last of which, accompanied by a colour tone block, was issued after 1620 by Willem Janssen in Amsterdam. For further information about the influence of this print, see T.H. Clarke, 'The Rhinoceros from Dürer to Stubbs: 1515-1799', London, 1986. Additional lit: G.Bartrum, 'German Renaissance Prints', exh.cat. BM, 1995, no.35; G.Bartrum, 'Dürer and his Legacy', exh.cat. BM, 2002, no. 243; M. McDonald, 'Ferdinand Columbus: Renaissance Collector', 2004-5, no.44
Bibliographic references: Meder 1932 / Dürer Katalog (273.1); Bartsch / Le Peintre graveur (VII.147.136); Dodgson 1903, 1911 / Catalogue of Early German and Flemish Woodcuts in the BM, 2 vols (I.307.125) (first edition); Schoch 2001-04 / Albrecht Dürer, das druckgraphische Werk. 3 vols I Intaglio, II Woodcuts, III Book illustrations (II.241.1); Proctor 1903 / An Index to the Early Printed Books in the British Museum, Part II (1502-1520), Section I: Germany (11184) ("Edition A"); MacGregor 2010 / A History of the World in 100 Objects (75)
Location: Not on display
Exhibition history: Exhibited: 1971 BM, Dürer, no.212 1977 London, BM, Animals in Art 1992 Feb-Mar, Atami, Moa Museum of Art, World Wildlife Fund Exh 1995 Jun-Oct, BM, 'German Renaissance Prints, 1490-1550', no.35 1996 Jun-Aug, Canterbury, Royal Mus and AG, German Renaissance Prints 1996 Nov-Dec, Edinburgh, NG of Scotland, German Renaissance Prints 1997 Jan-Mar, Cardiff, Nat Mus of Wales, German Renaissance Prints 1997 Apr-May, Llandudno, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Germ. Ren. Prints 1997 Oct-Dec, Norwich, Sainsbury Centre, German Renaissance Prints 1999/2000 Nov-Jan, Ghent, St. Peter's Abbey, 'Carolus' 2002/3 Dec-Mar, London BM, Dürer and his Legacy, no.243 2004 Jun-Jul, Madrid, 'LaCaixa', Ferdinand Columbus 2004 Oct-Dec, Seville, Salon Alto del Apeadero, Ferdinand Columbus 2005 London BM, Columbus 2006 London BM, Masterpieces of the British Museum, BBC series 2010 Sept - December, London BM, History of the World 2010-2011, London, BM/BBC, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
Subjects
Acquisition name
Acquisition date: 1895
Department: Prints and Drawings
Registration number: 1895,0122.714

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