Through the representation of Albrecht Dürer, the rediscovery of the rhinoceros had the effect of confirming the veracity of the Pliny writings and strengthen its authority among scientists. His model, though close to reality, is actually an illusion : he adds on the neck a little narwhal tooth, he draws the skin folds of the rhino as the plates of the carapace of a crustacean, and thinks the skin of its legs as scales of reptile or bird legs, and draws in it an elephant’s tail.He adds a legend and entitled it « 1515 RHINOCERVS ». Albrecht Dürer, complete artist, mathematician, engraver and painter of the Renaissance, read and was struck by the strangeness of the animal, so he began a pen sketch which became a woodcut. » One of them, a German printer living in Lisbon, Valentin Ferdinand, had sent a letter and a drawing of the beast to the merchant community of Nuremberg where he detailed the physiognomic characteristics of the rhinoceros. It is as long as the elephant it has much shorter legs, and color of the buis. It sharpens its horn against the rocks, and is thus preparing for battle, seeking above all to reach the stomach that its knows is the most vulnerable part. They certainly already had read the writings of Pliny the Elder, Strabo and other ancient authors: « In the same games, we also showed the rhinoceros with a horn on its nose we saw often this since :this is the second natural enemy of the elephant. Especially because of the excellent trade relations between Portuguese and Germans, a certain Albrecht Dürer, painter, got to know an animal that he will represent without having ever seen it.Engraving in a blind wayAmong the curious who flock near the Ajuda National Palace or in the streets to admire the parades of the rhinoceros, we find many scholars and scientists. The fame of the rhino is such that its coming even made a noise in the Spanish, French and Italian regions. In the royal menagerie of Manuel 1st, the perissodactyl attracts curious onlookers who come to look at the beast named Ulysse. No specimen of this kind had set foot in the old Europe for over twelve centuries and the time of the Roman games. May 20, 1515, the Nossa Senhora da Ajuda ship docked on the banks of Belém in Lisbon and the landing of the rhino undoubtedly made the biggest impression. Thus in January 1515, Alfonso de Albuquerque, governor of Portuguese India in Goa, is embarking towards Lisbon among ivory furniture and other prestigious gifts, a rhinoceros, royal gift of Muzaffar Shah II, Sultan of Cambay. The exchanges between representatives of Portuguese monarchy and Indian sultans then become commonplace to resolve conflicts, seal agreements or flatter elites. With its full facade on the Atlantic Ocean, the Portugal and its browsers children, Vasco da Gama in mind, bypass the Cape of Good Hope to set foot on the Indian sand in 1498. Woodcut from around 1515, the Rhinoceros of Albrecht Dürer became a naturalist illustration icon, inspiring many artists until beginning of the twentieth century.From Goa to LisbonIn the heart of the sixteenth century, while trade and merchant ships master seas and oceans, it is extremely common to see these wedges filled with plants, spices and exotic animals to satisfy the curiosity of Europe. Image details from the RRC Image Gallery:
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