Erasmus, ca. 1500 1865 - 1870

Christiaan Lodewijk van Kesteren created this print of Erasmus around 1500. Erasmus of Rotterdam was a towering figure of the Northern Renaissance, and the print captures something of his intellectual presence. Consider how knowledge was carefully guarded at this time. Notice how the students appear to be hanging on his every word; literacy and education were privileges, heavily policed by the church and state. Erasmus himself was a complex figure, a Catholic priest who nonetheless challenged the authority of the Church. His writings promoted religious tolerance and intellectual freedom, but also reflected the deep-seated prejudices of his time. The print invites us to reflect on the power dynamics inherent in education, and how access to knowledge has historically been a tool of social control. It reminds us that even the most progressive thinkers are products of their own historical context.