The rhinoceros that appears in the Feyerabend Centennial logo is modelled on a famous woodcut produced in 1515 by the German artist Albrecht Dürer. Dürer’s work was based not on a live animal but on second-hand descriptions and sketches of the first rhinoceros transported alive to Europe. The image is thus a creation between the ‘real’ and the ‘imaginary’, which remains for many more impressive than the ‘real’. The story is recounted in these fascinating documentaries: part 1, part 2
The logo has been prepared by Matteo Collodel based on these two (unpublished) quotations from the Feyerabend-Lakatos correspondence:
- “PS: Most recent discovery: after a careful study of about 10 books about Rhinoceroses I come to the conclusion that Duerer’s picture is still the best, and better than photographs.” (Feyerabend to Lakatos, Spring 1969).
- “Your Polyhedra Postcard gave me an idea: I shall have a postcard made with Rhinoceroses on it, my symbol.” (Feyerabend to Lakatos, Spring 1970).