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A Hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus)

before 1584
Not on view
This endearing study of a hedgehog dates from the second half of the sixteenth century, when the detailed study and portrayal of flora and fauna came into focus more and more. Due to the specialist skills required to replicate every minute detail characteristic for a specific animal or plant, certain artists, such as Hans Hoffmann and Joris Hoefnagel developed as specialists in this area. While Hoffmann was also active as a painter of portraits and religious subjects, he is best remembered for his highly finished drawings after nature. His initial inspiration however, was not nature itself per se, but the highly-detailed studies of it, made by his famous predecessor Albrecht Dürer, whose works were still admired and highly coveted. Several collectors in Nuremberg, the native town of both artists, owned such studies by Dürer and provided Hoffmann with inspiration.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: A Hedgehog (Erinaceus roumanicus)
  • Artist: Hans Hoffmann (German, Nuremberg ca. 1545/1550–1591/1592 Prague)
  • Date: before 1584
  • Medium: Watercolor and gouache
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 8 1/8 x 12 1/16 in. (20.7 x 30.7 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Annette de la Renta Gift, 2005
  • Object Number: 2005.347
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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Head of a Bearded Man, Hans Hoffmann German, Pen and orange-brown ink, brush and brown and black washes, heightened with white
Head of a Bearded Man
Hans Hoffmann
1579
A Small Piece of Turf, Hans Hoffmann German, Brush with gouache and watercolor over traces of charcoal underdrawing
A Small Piece of Turf
Hans Hoffmann
1584
Music-Making Angels, Albrecht Dürer German, Pen and brown ink
Music-Making Angels
Albrecht Dürer
1521
An Allegory, Adam Gutmann German, Pen and black ink, gray, brownish-green and pink washes
An Allegory
Adam Gutmann
1598
Allegory of Art, Joachim Lüchteke German, Pen and black ink, brush and coloured washes, heightened with white, over red chalk
Allegory of Art
Joachim Lüchteke
1595

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