Portret van Josephus Scaliger c. 1597 - 1669

This engraving of Josephus Scaliger was made by Theodor de Bry, likely in the late 16th century. It presents us with a vision of scholarly eminence that was taking hold across Europe at the time. The choice of printmaking as a medium is significant. The technology of reproducible images created an early form of celebrity intellectual. The inscription, the ornamental frame, and the crisp details all elevate Scaliger to near-heroic status. Note the classical allusion in the phrase 'Iuliades Veronensis,' linking Scaliger to Virgil and the city of Verona, thereby associating him with high culture and the Italian Renaissance. Portraits like this fulfilled a crucial social function. They served as tokens of intellectual exchange and circulated within scholarly networks. To fully understand this image, we might consult inventories of libraries and collections from that time. These could tell us who owned such portraits, and what role they played in shaping the identity of the early modern scholar. This portrait is a potent reminder that art is always entangled with the social and institutional contexts in which it is made, viewed, and used.