Description
A visual history of the 18th-century rhinoceros and her unusual life as cultural icon and captive creature
In 1741 a ship arrived in the Netherlands carrying a miraculous animal that few people in Europe had seen before: a young female rhinoceros from India named Clara. For 17 years, Clara traveled with her owner Douwe Mout through almost every country in Europe. Wherever she appeared, she made a sensation, becoming the most famous rhino in European history. Artists such as Jan Wandelaar, Johann Elias Ridinger, Petrus Camper, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon and Pietro Longhi immortalized her in paintings, drawings, sculptures and medals; she even influenced fashion; and she permanently corrected the false image of a rhinoceros perpetuated by Dürer in his famous 1515 engraving.
Based on new research, Gijs van der Ham, a former senior curator at the Rijksmuseum, reconstructs her life, travels and captivity, and unravels her influence on the iconography and knowledge of rhinoceroses.
Author: Gijs Van Der Ham
Publisher: Nai010 Publishers
Published: 01/17/2023
Pages: 208
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.90w x 0.80d
ISBN13: 9789462087477
ISBN10: 9462087474
BISAC Categories:
- Art | History | General
- Art | Subjects & Themes | Plants & Animals