This is an oak choir stall from 1520 found in the high church of St. Martini in Minden, Germany. It is significant for several reasons; inspired by the 1515 woodcut of Hans Burgkmair that was made the same year as that of Dürer. the differentiating features of Burgmair’s print are found in the dorsal hair and lack of a dorsal horn, spotted torso and especially the rope that ties the forelegs. This image shows the second back figure. It is located to the right of the altar. There is a Dragon tied at its feet on the stalls to the left. Both animals are meant to symbolise evil and the spheres with grape clusters at each end are meant to symbolise Christ, who contains the evil of the world and for this reason, everyone is invited to pray here. Finally the St.Martini rhino is important in that it was the first depiction of a rhino for the people of Nordrhein Westfalen and begs the question of just how influential was Burgkmair’s print in his life time.
