Lot 1810
‡MICHAEL CANNEY (1923-1999)
RHINOCEROS
Etching with aquatint and plate tone, 1947, signed and dated
14.5 x 21cm.
* Evidently inspired by Albrecht Durer's famous woodcut of 1515. The animal in Dürer's print was a gift from an Indian sultan to King Manuel of Portugal and was the first to have been seen in Europe for nearly 1500 years. The King donated the rhino to Pope Leo X but the beast died en route to Italy. Durer never saw a rhino and based his famous print upon a sketch and a descriptive letter.
