![]() ![]() It has a strong pointed horn on the tip of its nose, which it sharpens on stones. It is the size of an elephant but has shorter legs and is almost invulnerable. It is the color of a speckled tortoise, and is almost entirely covered with thick scales. It is remarkable that this exaggerated image was generally accepted as an accurate representation of a rhinoceros until around the middle of the 18th century.Ī rough translation of the inscription at the bottom of the drawing reads, " On the first of May in the year 1513 AD, the powerful King of Portugal, Manuel of Lisbon, brought such a living animal from India, called the rhinoceros. He enhances the public mythology of this strange beast, which had not been seen in Europe since Roman times, by drawing the folds of its skin like plates of armour and adding an extra horn to its back. ![]() ![]() Dürer never saw the actual creature in real life which accounts for its strange anatomical errors. The image of the rhinoceros is based on some notes and a sketch done by an unknown artist done in Lisbon in 1515. His pen drawing of an Indian rhinoceros is a typical example of his interest in animals. Dürer shared this fascination for the subject which he revealed in many of his drawings, watercolors and prints. Thus, beauty lies even in humble, perhaps ugly things, and the ideal, which bypasses or improves on nature, may not be truly beautiful in the end."Īt the beginning of the 16th century, the natural world of animals and plants was becoming a focus of scientific and cultural interest as explorers and travelers were returning from distant lands with examples and illustrations of new species. He wrote, " Nature holds the beautiful, for the artist who has the insight to extract it. He uses watercolor to delicately blend the soft graduating color of the plumage and overpaints linear detail with gouache (an opaque watercolor) to pick out the jagged edges of the feathers.ĭürer was fascinated by nature as he believed that the study of the natural world could reveal the fundamental truths he was seeking to discover through his art. It is a beautiful watercolor painting that accurately captures the structure, texture and shimmering color of the bird's feathers. 'The Wing of a Blue Roller' is one such example of his remarkable drawing ability. Almost two centuries before, Albrecht Dürer was one of the first artists to view animals as a subject worthy of attention and he demonstrates this across a range of watercolors and prints that have become hugely popular and frequently reproduced. Critics felt that the painting of animals was simply a demonstration of technical skill, and as such did not aspire to the creative vision of great art. Although Dürer became one of the greatest oil painters of the Northern Renaissance, he is equally famous for his exquisite watercolors, engravings and woodcut prints.Īnimals were not generally considered to be appropriate subjects for serious art until the eighteenth century when George Stubbs elevated the genre by the sheer quality of his work. Originally taught to draw by his father who was a goldsmith, he seems to have inherited that craft's appreciation of fine detail. Albrecht Dürer was born in the city of Nuremberg, a lively cultural and commercial center in 15th century Germany. ![]()
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