Dürer's Rhinoceros
The most famous rhino, drawn by an artist who never saw one
In 1515 a live rhinoceros from India reached Lisbon, the first seen in Europe since Roman times. Albrecht Dürer made his woodcut from a sketch and a letter, adding armour plates and a horn on the back — and Europeans pictured rhinos that way for over two centuries.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 16th century
Did you know
The most famous rhinoceros in art was drawn by a man who never saw one. Dürer worked from a sketch, adding armour plates and an extra horn — and rhinos were drawn his way for over 200 years. Share →
After the elephant’s success, Portugal’s king decided to send the pope a rhinoceros too. But early in 1516 the ship sank off Italy and the chained rhino drowned: the very animal Dürer had immortalised. Share →
Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)
Whole world
- 1526–1867 Atlantic slave trade — 11 years later
Eastern Europe & Russia
- 1526 Battle of Mohács — 11 years later
Middle East
- 1501 Founding of Safavid Iran — 14 years earlier
- 1520–1566 Reign of Suleiman the Magnificent — 5 years later
Africa
- 1529–1543 Ahmad Gragn invades Ethiopia — 14 years later
Asia
- 1498 Vasco da Gama reaches India — 17 years earlier
- 1511 Portuguese capture of Malacca — 4 years earlier
- 1526 First Battle of Panipat — 11 years later
Americas
- 1492 Columbus reaches the Americas — 23 years earlier
- 1519–1522 Magellan's circumnavigation — 4 years later
- 1521 Fall of Tenochtitlan — 6 years later
- 1532 Capture of Atahualpa at Cajamarca — 17 years later
Alive at the time
- Leonardo da Vinci (aged 63)
- Nicolaus Copernicus (aged 42)
- Michelangelo (aged 40)
- Martin Luther (aged 32)
- Maximilian I (aged 56)
- Moctezuma II (aged 49)
- Guru Nanak (aged 46)
- Vasco da Gama (aged 46)
- Selim I the Grim (aged 45)
- Vasily III (aged 36)