Raffael - Schule - Der Elefant Hanno, KdZ 17949

This drawing depicts the famous elephant in profile, meticulously detailing the texture of its wrinkled hide and its physical proportions. A mahout sits atop the animal holding a traditional goad, while another figure stands at the front, with various measurement marks in 'palmi' (palms) indicating the sketch served as a scientific or artistic record. The work represents a shift toward empirical observation of exotic animals in the early modern period.

Hanno was a centerpiece of Pope Leo X’s 'Court of Wonders' and a symbol of the global reach of the Renaissance papacy. As a living marvel, he influenced the era's iconographic landscape, providing a real-world reference for the elephant-and-obelisk motif found in influential esoteric texts like the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.