The Rhinoceros

The Rhinoceros by Albrecht Dürer is arguably the most famous woodcut in the history of Western art. Created in 1515, this monumental print captured the imagination of Europe by illustrating an exotic subject few patrons or artists had ever seen. This early sixteenth-century artwork resides in the esteemed collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Dürer’s interpretation of the rhinoceros is especially notable because the artist had never observed the animal in life. The real subject arrived in Lisbon earlier that year, the first live specimen seen in Europe since antiquity. Working only from third-party sketches and detailed written accounts, Dürer rendered the creature with overlapping plates resembling impenetrable armor, a small second horn on its back, and scaled legs. While anatomically inaccurate, the resulting woodcut is dramatically detailed, utilizing the inherent boldness of the relief medium to give the impression of immense size and raw power.

The medium chosen for this piece, the woodcut, facilitated the rapid and wide distribution of the image across Europe. The resulting proliferation of prints profoundly influenced natural history illustrations for the next two centuries, defining how Western culture perceived the rhinoceros. The remarkable success and historical significance of this piece secured Dürer’s reputation as a foundational printmaker. Due to the age of this influential work, high-resolution digital copies of many early impressions are widely available through the public domain, ensuring the image remains accessible for study today.