The rhinoceros as engraved spectacle

An animal becomes an astonishing patterned surface.

Dürer woodcut of a rhinoceros rendered with elaborate plates, folds and patterned textures, with text above — Complete image · The Metropolitan Museum of ArtOpen full-resolution image

Look closer

Let your eye lead the way.

Follow the transitions between broad plates and fine textures.
Compare the feet, horn and folds of the skin.
Step back to include the original text area in the composition.

The story behind the object

The animal’s weight meets a surface almost too busy to take in at once: plates, wrinkles, engraved textures. Look first at the image as an act of representation rather than a zoological photograph.

This is the Met’s particular impression of Dürer’s 1515 woodcut. Other impressions can differ. The text area belongs to the complete image, so a close detail should never quietly replace the whole.

Original source & provenance

Institutional title: The Rhinoceros
Maker / origin: Albrecht Dürer
Date: 1515
Material: Woodcut
Collection / accession: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 60.708.157

German artist; US-held impression. The familiar story that Dürer never saw the animal is not established by the short catalogue record used here.

View at the museum

Image & reproduction rights

The Met identifies this image as public domain under its Open Access CC0 programme. Collection research dated 2026-11-01. Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession 60.708.157.

The complete master is 3682 × 2942 pixels. The smaller display copies preserve the whole image; no invented detail has been added. This is not a print-quality promise, museum endorsement or worldwide clearance of non-copyright restrictions.

Met Open Access terms · Original museum image

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