Rhinoceros, 19th century

This image of a rhinoceros was likely copied from a 1782 sketch by Katsuragawa Hoshū (1751–1809), a physician and scholar of Dutch studies employed by the sixth shogun, Tokugawa Ienobu. Hoshū likely used a version of Albrecht Dürer’s illustration (on view nearby) reproduced in Historiae naturalis (1657), as is evident in the differences between Hoshū’s and Dürer’s versions: Dürer’s calm, closed-mouth rhinoceros has transformed into one that menacingly bears angular teeth in Hoshū’s iteration. Hoshū further emphasizes the fierceness of the animal by using jagged lines along the neck and back, as if it is fully armored. Rather than directly copying Hoshū’s illustration, this Kano artist instead composed his rhinoceros from Hoshū’s written description of the animal. For example, the text mentions that the rhinoceros has  reddish-brown skin, which is reflected in the colored pigment applied over the ink.