Zee-olifant met oren van bladeren c. 1526 - 1606

Adam Fuchs created this etching, “Sea Elephant with Ears of Leaves”, sometime before his death in 1606. During the late Renaissance, the rise of scientific exploration coincided with a fascination for the monstrous and the exotic, often blending the real with the imagined. Here, Fuchs offers us a fantastical creature, a sea elephant, that blurs the lines between animal, vegetable, and mineral. Its leafy ears and coiled body suggest transformation and hybridity, reflecting the era’s interest in metamorphosis. The detailed etching technique captures a sense of both wonder and unease. Monsters, like the sea elephant, can be read as symbols of the unknown, embodying fears and desires related to unfamiliar territories and cultures. They challenge traditional categories and invite us to reconsider our understanding of identity. Ultimately, Fuchs’s sea elephant reflects a society grappling with the boundaries of knowledge, identity, and the natural world.