Articles  >>  Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497 - 1543)

Erasmus of Rotterdam is the greatest scientist of the Northern Renaissance, a thinker, nicknamed “the prince of humanists.” He prepared the first edition of the Greek original of the New Testament with commentaries, marked the beginning of a critical study of the text of the Scriptures. He contributed to the return of the literary heritage of antiquity and gained fame by his freedom-loving views. A scholar taught Greek at Cambridge. Erasmus of Rotterdam led a nomadic life, moved from town to town. Only at the end of his life, he settled in Basel, where he ended his life.

 

The artist was friendly with a great thinker and painted it several times. In this portrait, Holbein conveys the appearance of a man with a deep and sharp mind, as indicated by his penetrating gaze, pursed corners of thin lips.

The scientist is dressed in rich, fur-trimmed clothes. The hands of the great philosopher are on the book, maybe this is the Bible. The portrait is made in the mean range of dark brown tones.

Login / Register - Join now! Your name: (or login via social. network below)

Comment:

Enter the code you see in the image above (case sensitive). Click on the image to refresh it.