Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam by Albrecht Dürer; engraving; 1526

Erasmus is standing to the right of the image, facing towards the left, at a table on which is a writing desk. He is writing a letter. On the table next to the writing desk is a folded letter and a vase containing lily of the valley and other flowers. At the back of the image is a frame with an inscription in Latin and Greek with the artist's monogram below. In the foreground is an open book, possibly Erasmus's 'Adagia' and to the right several closed books.

Salting Bequest

Dürer met Erasmus of Rotterdam (1467-1536) on at least two occasions during his visit to the Low Countries 1520/21, and sketched his likeness. After receiving Dürer's engravings of Pirckheimer, he repeatedly asked Dürer to do the same for him. In the end, he wrote to Pirckheimer: 'I wonder how I shall show Dürer my gratitude, which he deserves eternally. It is not surprising that this picture does not correspond exactly to my appearance. I no longer look the same as five years ago.' The inscription reads: The Likeness of Erasmus of Rotterdam, Done by Albrecht Dürer from Life [Latin] - His Writings Present a Better Picture of the Man than this Portrait [Greek] /MDXXVI/AD.' The likeness is in all probability based on Erasmus's portrait medal designed by Quentin Massys.
(From 'The Illustrated Bartsch - Albrecht Dürer; Volume 10 (Commentary) page 238).

Together with his portrait of Melanchthon, cat. no.166, which was engraved in the same year, this is the last of Dürer's printed portraits as well as being the most elaborate. Dürer met the great humanist Desiderius Erasmus (1467-1536) three times during his stay in the Netherlands in 1520-21 (see Conway, pp.98, 102, 114). On these occasions Erasmus had given Dürer a Spanish 'mantilla' and three portraits while Dürer had presented Erasmus with a set of the 'Engraved Passions' (cat. nos 116, 215) and had drawn his portrait 'once again' (probably the charcoal portait dated 1520, in the Louvre, Strauss 1520/16, which does not relate to this print). Erasmus expressed his interest in obtaining a portrait from Dürer in correspondence with Pirckheimer in 1523 and 1525, but several months elapsed before Dürer produced it. Its formal appearance is emphasized by the two inscriptions on it, one in Latin, 'Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam, drawn from life by Albrecht Dürer', and the other underneath in Greek, which states that the writings of Erasmus will show a better portrait than the print.
(From 'Albrecht Dürer and His Legacy - The Graphic Work of a Renaissance Artist' by Giulia Bartram, The British Museum Press, 2002)

Albrecht Dürer produced many portraits which were either drawn or painted, but made comparatively few printed portraits. His subjects were his friends and associates but also leading figures in politics, religion, science and the arts as well as key figures involved in the Reformation. Some of these portraits were for private use while some were designed from the outset for public display. By the time he produced this print Dürer was an accomplished master of engraving.

This portrait of Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536), the Dutch theologian and humanist who was famous for his published correspondence, was made in 1526. Dürer's unusually detailed engraving shows Erasmus writing a letter with a reed pen. The book in the foreground is probably the 'Adagia', his compilation of proverbs reconciling classical and Christian wisdom. Dürer met Erasmus three times during a stay in the Netherlands in 1520-21 but did not produce this portrait until some years later, after Erasmus had expressed an interest in obtaining a portrait of himself by the artist. When Erasmus saw the print he complained that it was not a good likeness. However he allowed copies to circulate and probably distributed some as gifts.

E.4621-1910