Albrecht Dürur's 'Rhinoceros'

Question 1

date

Answer 1

1515

Question 2

medium

Answer 2

woodcut print

Question 3

location

Answer 3

British Museum London

Question 4

what is it based upon

Answer 4

written description and brief sketch by an Indian rhinoceros that had arrived in Lisbon in 1515 (first living one seen in Europe since roman times)

Question 5

did he have first hand experience

Answer 5

no he never saw the rhinoceros so didn’t draw the animal from first hand experience

Question 6

what was the sketch accompanied by, details

Answer 6

a detailed inscription in the vernacular german based on the account by Pliny the elder = ‘it is covered in thick scales’

Question 7

what did pliny the elder claim

Answer 7

that the elephant and rhinoceros are bitter enemies = used horn to kill elephant

Question 8

when did the rhinoceros arrive in Portugal and from where

Answer 8

20th May 1515, far east

Question 9

what happened in early 1514

Answer 9

Alfonso de Albuquerque (governor of Portugeuse india) sent ambassadors to Sultan Muzaffar Shah II and diplomatic gifts were exchanged inc the rhinoceros (from sultan)

Question 10

why did rulers send exotic animals to each other

Answer 10

to be kept in menagerie

Question 11

what did albuquerque then do

Answer 11

forward the gift to King Manuel I of Portugal

Question 12

how long was the rhinoceros’s journey

Answer 12

120 days

Question 13

what happened en route from Portugal to Rome

Answer 13

being sent to Pope Leo X but stopped over in Marseille for King Francis I of France to see but sunk

Question 14

what type of depiction is it

Answer 14

highly stylised

Question 15

what is durer best known for

Answer 15

his meticulous analytical detail of the natural world = constant obsession (e.g his 1502 drawing of a hare)

Question 16

what was the C16 like

Answer 16

an age of discovery, treasures from around the world were arriving in Europe with the discovery of the americas by columbus (sailed the ocean blue in 1492)

Question 17

what other animals did he borrow from

Answer 17

elephant tails, skin folds as plates of carapace of crustacean, narwhal tooth

Question 18

how was the rhino received

Answer 18

furore by a culture hungry for curiosity

Question 19

what was durer the first artist to do

Answer 19

buy a printing press and to be primarily a print maker

Question 20

what was this image one of the first in Europe

Answer 20

early mass produced image (4000-5000 produced)

Question 21

how long would the woodcut process have taken the artist

Answer 21

10 days (extremely intricate = evidence of great finesse)

Question 22

what is the evidence of great finesse in this woodcut

Answer 22

the amount of detail in shading and cross hatching

Question 23

how did dürer change the perception of woodcutting

Answer 23

he raised the status and reputation by his desire for it to rival paintings

Question 24

what did durer want his art to be

Answer 24

accessible to all = cost a steak dinner

Question 25

what happened to the original woodblock

Answer 25

disintegrated in 18th century

Question 26

what makes it so memorable

Answer 26

the quality of fantasy

Question 27

why was it important in the context of the renaissance

Answer 27

as it was a rediscovered piece of classical antiquity

Question 28

how many copies were printed during his lifetime

Answer 28

4000-5000 copies

Question 29

how was it regarded by westerners until 18th century

Answer 29

as the true representation (even appeared in German biology textbook in 1920s)

Question 30

importance of image

Answer 30

appeared to prove Pliny the elder's descriptions correct

Question 31

what did Clarke say about it

Answer 31

'probably no animal picture has exerted such a profound influence on the arts'

Question 32

hard plates cover body

Answer 32

appears as a sheet of armour = gorget at threat and solid looking breastplate (arguably has deep folds in skin which appear like armour from a distance)

Question 33

sharp points punctuate the figure

Answer 33

emphasises idea of metalwork

Question 34

monochrome

Answer 34

focus on lines and texture created (essence of a woodblock print) = range of textures include hair and crosshatching

Question 35

inclusion of stones

Answer 35

Pliny = 'it has a sharp strong horn on its nose which it sharpens on stones'

Question 36

horn in contact with the edge and aggressively pushes

Answer 36

boxed into composition = conveys its irritable and bellicose nature

Question 37

distinctive AD initials

Answer 37

obsessive signer of his works

Question 38

depicted in profile

Answer 38

like a high status portrait

Question 39

takes up the entirety of the composition

Answer 39

indicates its size and importance

Question 40

How could the woodcut be formally analysed?

Answer 40

-scaly legs and a saw-like hind quarter -small, twisted horn on back -hard plated with armour like seams; overall biologically inaccurate -emphasis on it's importance through the scale (filling the whole page) and side profile depiction -Highly stylized with hatching and round marks -perfectly captures the irritable nature of the animal: hunched shoulders, lowered head and downcast eyes

Question 41

How was the piece shaped by its context?

Answer 41

-Durer was famous for his naturalistic paintings and painstaking realism, creating 1000+ drawings of the natural world -16thc. was the age of discovery in Europe, spawning a fascination with the unknown and ridiculous -well received by a curious culture of the Northern Renaissance

Question 42

What were the materials, techniques and processes involved in creating the piece?

Answer 42

-created as a woodblock print, one of the earliest mass printed images in Europe -Durer was the first artist to by his own printing press and operate mainly as a printmaker -desired to raise the printmaker to being equal in status to the painter -great finesse and experience can be seen in the shadow/detail/hatching

Question 43

albrecht durer

Answer 43

born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1471