Ocean Sunfish (Mola Mola), Anselmus Boëtius de Boodt, 1596 - 1610
brush, h 255mm × w 184mm More details
The ocean sunfish owes its Latin name Mola, meaning millstone, to its leathery and rough skin. The Dutch name Maanvis, or moonfish, derives from the resemblance between its shape and the celestial body. De Boodt might have seen a stuffed specimen in Emperor Rudolf II’s cabinet of curiosities. Just how large that moonfish was is not clear in this drawing: they can reach a size of 4 metres.
