Plate 50: A Crocodile, a Hippopotomus, a Land Crocodile or Tegu Lizard(?), and a Crocodile or Spiny-Tailed Lizard with a Papyrus Plant

Joris Hoefnagel

National Gallery of Art

This is a painting of a riverbank scene featuring several animals. The crocodile is on the bank of a river under a gentle curve of green plants, with a boar and two lizards against a backdrop of water and tall grasses. The scene is enclosed within an oval frame. The crocodile is in the foreground, its textured scales rendered in detail, while the river reflects a light blue hue. A boar grazes on the green terrain, and tall grasses and palm-like plants set the boundary between land and the river. Latin inscriptions are above the oval frame. This is in the style of Albrecht Dürer.