Clara the rhinoceros
An exhibition about an eighteenth-century phenomenon
The exhibition is devoted to the influence, above all in image and conceptualisation of the first detailed encounter between Europeans and an Indian rhinoceros in the mid-eighteenth century.
About the project
The research will focus on as precise as possible a reconstruction of the journeys that the Dutch owner of Clara the rhinoceros made with her throughout large areas of Europe between 1741 and 1758, as well as of the partly political context of those travels, and of the effects they had on art and science. There will also be a close examination of the role played by marketing strategies. In a wider sense the research will also be linked to ideas about the relationship between man and animal.
Goal of the project
The research will be used for an exhibition in late 2022 and for an associated publication.
Related events
Various activities will take place around the exhibition (lectures, symposium, etc.).
Staff
Gijs van der Ham
gijs.van.der.ham@rijksmuseum.nl
Senior Curator of History
Related projects
Exhibition Creepy-crawlies (to be held at the same time)