Portret van Desiderius Erasmus 1751 - 1807

This is François Joseph Pfeiffer’s portrait of Desiderius Erasmus, made in the 18th century using stipple engraving. Pfeiffer, who lived through the Enlightenment, captures Erasmus who was a pivotal figure of the Renaissance. The portrait reflects the intellectual and religious tensions of Pfeiffer's time. Erasmus, a scholar and Catholic priest, is depicted with a thoughtful gaze, embodying the humanist values of reason and individualism that challenged traditional orthodoxies. Pfeiffer’s print comes from a time when Europe was still deeply stratified by class and religious doctrine. The choice to portray Erasmus, who advocated for religious tolerance and reform, speaks to the complex negotiation between tradition and modernity. How does Pfeiffer use the artistic techniques of his time to capture a figure who, centuries earlier, had sown the seeds of intellectual and religious revolution? This print invites us to consider how the legacies of the past are continuously reinterpreted through the lens of the present.