ECHT TIERISCH! Princely Menageries

Echt tierisch!
Die Menagerie des Fürsten
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Statuette des Elefanten Süleyman
Landschaft mit Vögeln

Exotic animals that traveled great distances, rare birds, noble dogs and horses, these and other animalia cavorted at Habsburg courts in the sixteenth century. On display are priceless Kunstkammer objects, paintings, drawings and engravings, including extraordinary animals studies and portraits, by Albrecht Dürer, Giambologna, Joris Hoefnagel, Roelant Savery and Veronese, as well as naturalia made from ivory and rhinoceros horn which tell incredible stories about the world of animals and their importance in the Renaissance.

Beside Tigerthier (Lion), the Dodo bird and civets belonging to Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol, you will learn about Süleyman, the Renaissance superstar: one of the earliest Ceylonese elephants to reach Europe, who enchanted crowds and people on his way from Lisbon to Vienna. In January 1552 he arrived in Innsbruck from Italy on foot, traversing the Brenner Pass in special shoes. Learn and see how this pachyderm made a lasting impression upon writers, painters and sculptors. Using the collection of Ferdinand II as a point of departure, this exhibitions presents exquisite masterpieces, some exhibited for the first time, along with newly researched rarities, including the renowned icon of animal portraits, Dürer’s Rhinoceros. 100 objects are on view, many high-profile loans from the Kunsthistorisches Museum, as well as from prestigious national and international museums. Also highlighting this show are masterful taxidermy specimens.

Accompanying this exhibition, curated by Annemarie Jordan Gschwend, Thomas Kuster, Veronika Sandbichler und Katharina Seidl, is an English-German catalogue.