Nashorn / Rhinoceros

On a hill above the Ruhr valley, the Rhinoceros rests on a round pedestal beside the entrance to Haus Am Luftigen, which was initially very popular as a civic center and then as a restaurant. The current owner refers to the rhinoceros as the guardian of the house, which is an apt description of the self-sufficient, archaic, and simultaneously protective character of the animal. Squatting, but ready for action, the animal presents itself to the viewer. The rough, pocked surface and color of the cast concrete correspond to the natural appearance of a rhinoceros. Occupying a prominent position in Johannes Brus’s work, the rhinoceros has been seen as the epitome of an exotic and primal foreign animal in art history ever since Albrecht Dürer’s famous image from 1515. Brus’s Rhinoceros Temple at the Johanniskirche in Essen-Vogelheim contains another depiction of the animal.

Reference: Heimat- und Verkehrsverein Kettwig