Rund before 1650

Antonio Tempesta made this print, Rund, using etching and engraving, sometime between 1570 and 1630. It depicts a beast referred to as Monocerons or Alicorno, now known as a rhinoceros. The magic is in the making: Tempesta has used the graphic language of printmaking to conjure a fearsome creature. Notice how the lines create shading and volume; this is achieved through the controlled removal of material from a metal plate, bearing witness to the hand skills of the artist. In its time, printmaking was a powerful medium that could disseminate images widely, crucial for scientific and artistic knowledge. Through Tempesta’s lines, this rhino becomes not just an animal, but a spectacle, a subject of both wonder and fear. In doing so, it collapses the distinction between art, science, and the public imagination.