Head of a Walrus

In 1520, the German artist Alrecht Dürer travelled to Zeeland in the Netherlands, supposedly to see a stranded whale. The beast had decayed before he arrived, but instead he was shown a walrus. Dürer made a sketch of the animal in his Tagebuch der Reise in die Niederlande (Diary of of a journey in the Netherlands). We do not know exactly what he saw. The sketch just shows the upper parts of the walrus's body. It may have been a salted or stuffed specimen, imported from the Arctic region. On the other hand, the text next to the image suggests a Dutch origin. It reads (loosely translated): "The animal of which I have drawn the head here, was caught in the Dutch Sea and measured XII ells and four feet." And with this fantastic piece (would you ever consider a sketch of a walrus to be a masterpiece?) the whole DailyArt team want to wish you a pleasant Friday. Today is also the birthday of Stan, who designed this app. Staszek <3