The Rhinoceros
Classification
animals
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Leo Wallerstein
Accession Number
1950-5-24
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), a master of the Northern Renaissance from Germany, crafted *The Rhinoceros* in1515, showcasing his unparalleled skill in printmaking and scientific observation. As a leading figure in the German Renaissance, Dürer art and natural history, producing detailed studies of animals that blended artistic precision with emerging empirical curiosity. Though the medium is currently under research, Dürer's works from this era were typically woodcuts or engravings, allowing wide dissemination across Europe. This striking depiction captures a rhinoceros—an exotic creature rarel...