Erasmus of Rotterdam

In this final engraving of his artistic career, Albrecht Dürer portrays scholar Desiderius Erasmus (1465-1536). Erasmus had urged Dürer to complete this portrait after meeting the artist in the Netherlands in 1520-21, but was ultimately disappointed with the result, which he considered an inadequate likeness. Dürer may have felt similarly, as the inscription at the top right of the print reads, "Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam, drawn from the living model by Albrecht Dürer. His writings portray him better." Whether or not Dürer's portrait adequately describes Erasmus' physical appearance, it certainly emphasizes his intellectual pursuits, via the Greek and Latin inscription, the books surrounding the figure, and the writing implements in Erasmus' hand. Shown in the act of writing a letter, Erasmus in this portrait has been likened by some art historians to representations of the famed letter-writer Saint Jerome, who Renaissance humanists (including Erasmus) revered as a paragon of erudition.