Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn: An elephant (1637)

 

(Albertina, Vienna, Austria)

A drawing made by the Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606-1669). This is a drawing of the elephant 'Hansken', a female elephant that became famous in early 17th-century Europe. Hansken was probably a present from the king of Kandy (a kingdom in modern Sri Lanka) to the Dutch. The Dutch East India Company (V.O.C) brought Hanskens to The Netherlands in 1633 where she was offered as a present to Prince Frederick Henry of Orange. Hansken was later sold to and in 1638 she became the property of Cornelis Jacobs van Groenevelt. Cornelis toured with Hansken in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Italy. Cornelis taught Hansken several tricks including waving a flag, firing a pistol, striking a drum, holding out her front feet, pinching money from pockets, putting on a hat, carrying a bucket of water, and picking up coins from the ground. Hansken died on 9 November 1655 in Florence, probably from an infectious disease. Grand Duke Ferdinando II de' Medici of Tuscany bought the remains of Hansken from Cornelis Jacobs van Groenevelt. The skeleton of Hansken is still preserved in Florence at Museo della Specola. Rembrandt made this drawing of Hansken in October 1637 at the Amsterdam fair where he saw her in real life.