British Museum Puts Sculptures of Dürer’s ‘Rhinoceros’ on Bitcoin Blockchain

In one memorable screed, Dürer railed against printmakers who made unauthorized copies of his work, accusing the “pilferers of other men’s brains” of laying their “thievish hands upon my works. Not only will your goods be confiscated,” Dürer warned the Renaissance IP thieves, “but your bodies also placed in mortal danger.” Dürer, Walker suggested, would be right at home in the modern art world, where digital artists use NFTs to establish provenance, and wrestle with the implications of AI on copyrighted works. “It’s fascinating,” he said, “and it kind of fits in with the whole digital inscription idea.”

Walker was at pains to stress that “Dürer’s drawing does not suddenly become an NFT just because it’s on the blockchain,” noting that, “We’re creating a whole new interpretation of the piece, and the original Dürer drawing of ‘The Rhinoceros’ is actually owned by the museum.” “It’s slightly different dynamics,” he said. “Digital art is the thing, and it’s basically just preserving the piece on the blockchain so it will last forever.”