Bilder Sebastian Munster (1488–1552) – Rhinoceros – Woodcut (1550)

Beskrivning

This print presents a detailed woodcut illustration of a rhinoceros, characterized by its armor-like skin plates and a small secondary horn on its shoulder. The depiction is based on the famous 1515 woodcut by Albrecht Dürer, which became the standard visual representation of the animal in Europe for centuries despite certain anatomical inaccuracies. The illustration is set within a page of German fraktur text and was published as part of the Cosmographia, the earliest German-language description of the world. This influential work combined geographical and historical accounts with natural history, serving as a primary source for sixteenth-century scholars to understand exotic fauna from distant lands.

Sebastian Munster was a German cartographer, cosmographer, and Christian Hebraist who became one of the most significant geographic scholars of the Reformation era. A former Franciscan monk who later converted to Protestantism, he served as a professor at the University of Basel, where he compiled vast amounts of geographical, historical, and biological data. His masterpiece, the Cosmographia, went through numerous editions and was translated into several languages, fundamentally shaping the European worldview for decades. Munster is recognized for his systematic approach to documentation and his role in popularizing the study of the natural world through highly detailed woodcut illustrations.

Artist or Maker: Sebastian Munster.

Dimensions: Approximately 35 cm x 23 cm.

Medium: Woodcut .

Date: 1550.

Condition Report:
This work is in good condition overall. There may be a few minor imperfections or fox or mottled marks to be expected with age. Please review the images carefully for condition details, and feel free to contact us with any questions or for a comprehensive condition report.