Rhinoceros and Hippopotamus, 1709

Double-Sided 1709 Ink Drawing

Rhinoceros and Hippopotamus, 1709

inkl on paper
dated on the back, 1709
unframed: 21.5 x 28.5 cm (8 1/2 x 11 1/4 in)
framed: 40 x 47 cm (15 3/4 x 18 1/2 in)

ESSAY:
This rare double-sided ink drawing (dated 1709 on both sides) features two of the era’s most exotic beasts: a rhinoceros and a hippopotamus. The unknown artist drew heavy inspiration from Albrecht Dürer’s famous 1515 woodcut Rhinoceros for the front image, while the reverse presents a stylized hippopotamus – an animal virtually unseen in Europe at the time. The artwork exudes the historical charm of the early 18th century, when curiosity about exotic creatures ran high. It is now beautifully presented in a custom, hand-crafted frame by Christer Björkman (one of Europe’s leading frame makers), designed to allow viewing of both drawings. 

The Rhinoceros Side (Front)
Front side of the drawing , depicting a rhinoceros in meticulous detail. The unknown artist emulates Albrecht Dürer’s iconic armored rhinoceros, a famous 1515 image that influenced European depictions of the creature for centuries.

The front side showcases a rhinoceros drawn in meticulous ink detail, clearly modeled after Albrecht Dürer’s iconic Rhinoceros woodcut of 1515. Like Dürer’s depiction, this rhinoceros is covered in plate-like armor with textured patterns and even sports the small secondary horn on its back. The artist, working in 1709, likely had never seen a real rhinoceros—relying instead on Dürer’s famous print as a reference. Dürer’s original Rhinoceros woodcut was enormously influential: it became “very popular in Europe and was copied many times in the following three centuries,” remaining regarded as an accurate representation of the animal into the late 1700s


Preparatory study for the rhinoceros print by Albrecht Dürer, 1515 (British Museum: SL,5218.161 ). 

Despite being a copy after Dürer’s concept, the drawing is executed with considerable skill and attention. The rhinoceros’s face is rendered with expressive line work, and the fantastical armor-like skin is filled with ornate patterning similar to Dürer’s design. There are subtle personal touches distinguishing this rendering from Dürer’s print – for instance, the strokes of the pen and slight variations in the armor plates give the piece its own character. Establishing its creation at the dawn of the 18th century, nearly 200 years after Dürer. This timing is significant: Europeans of the early 1700s still largely knew the rhinoceros through Dürer’s imagery, since live specimens were exceedingly rare. (In fact, after a famous rhinoceros gift in 1515 that inspired Dürer, the next live rhinoceros widely seen in Europe was not until Clara in the 1740s.) The rhinoceros side of this drawing thus perfectly encapsulates the period’s blend of accurate observation and imaginative interpretation inherited from a legendary source.

The Hippopotamus Side (Reverse)
Reverse side of the drawing (1709), showing a stylized hippopotamus with Latin annotations. Early 18th-century Europeans had to rely on written descriptions and scant images for such exotic animals, resulting in imaginative portrayals like this.

On the reverse side, the same artist turned attention to another exotic marvel: the hippopotamus. The hippopotamus is rendered in a notably stylized manner, almost like a fantastical creature. It has a rotund, powerful body and a large head with gaping jaws and pronounced teeth. This side too is labeled with the date 1709, and intriguingly, includes a handwritten annotation in Latin (or early modern scientific nomenclature) describing the animal. The inscription appears to reference the “African” origin and other contemporary observations, highlighting the scholarly curiosity involved in the drawing.

The somewhat whimsical appearance of the hippopotamus – with short legs, a curving spine, and a almost mule-like face – underlines how unfamiliar such an animal was to Europeans in 1709. Unlike the rhinoceros (which at least had Dürer’s template), a hippopotamus was even more of a mysterious creature. At the time, very few people in Europe had ever seen a hippopotamus; none had been kept live on the continent since ancient Roman times. (Remarkably, the first living hippos to arrive in Europe in modern history did not do so until the 19th century – one male in 1850 and a female in 1854.) Early 18th-century depictions of hippopotami therefore had to rely entirely on travelers’ reports, textual descriptions from antiquity, or imaginations. This drawing reflects that context: it’s an earnest attempt to capture a “river horse” with the limited information available. The result is a charmingly naive yet compelling image, with the hippopotamus appearing almost mythical.

The cultural context of this side is the era’s fascination with exotic fauna. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Europeans were enthralled by animals from distant lands, which were seen as wonders of nature. Rulers and aristocrats collected curiosities and even maintained private menageries filled with unusual creatures to showcase their power and satisfy scientific curiosity.

Public interest was high as well – exotic animals were “seen as objects of fascination and wonder”, exhibited to entertain and educate the curious.

A hippopotamus in 1709 would have been the epitome of such fascination. The presence of this animal on the reverse of the drawing suggests the artist (or perhaps the patron who commissioned it) was keenly interested in natural history and the marvels of the known world. This double-sided format itself might have been intended for a collector’s cabinet of curiosities or an early scientific collection, allowing two exotic beasts to be admired on one sheet. The hippo drawing, with its descriptive note, almost functions like a page from an 18th-century naturalist’s sketchbook – blending art and early scientific inquiry. Its rarity cannot be overstated: few illustrations of hippopotami from this period exist, making this piece particularly valuable as a historical record of European perceptions of the animal.

The frame:
Presentation is an important part of this artwork’s appeal. The drawing is housed in a new custom frame handmade by Christer Björkman.

The framing is expertly crafted in a classic style that complements the antiquity of the drawing, Notably, the frame is designed to allow easy access to both sides: it can be opened (via a secure hinge mechanism) so that viewers can study the rhinoceros on the front and the hippopotamus on the back in turn.