Illustration from 'The Humorous Dreams of Pantagruel' by Francois Desprez, published 1565 (woodcut)

Desprez falsely claimed his series of 120 fantastical woodcuts to be part of the series of novels about the giants Gargantua and Pantagruel by the Renaissance humanist Francois Rabelais (1494-1553), probably in the hope of exploting Rabelais' huge popularity following his death; The artist Salvador Dali made a series of lithographs based upon this series of figures; Les Songes Drolatiques de Pantagruel ou sont contenues plusieurs figures de l'invention de maistre Francois Rabelais; This particular figure, with the nose of an elephant and the beard and ears of a man, is dressed in the robes of a Cardinal; One hand offers benedictions while the other holds a rod to punish heresy;