Statue of Erasmus of Rotterdam

Here is a Dutch engraving that visitors can admire at the MIR. On a bridge spanning a canal stands a large statue of Erasmus reading a book.

It is placed on an engraved base and surrounded by a fence. In the background appears Rotterdam, birthplace of the humanist.

This representation was drawn by Hillebrand van der Aa (c. 1660-c. 1721), from Leyden, and engraved by Amsterdam-based Daniel Stoopendaal (1672-1726). The engraving was printed by the Leydois publisher Pieter van der Aa (1659-1733), brother of Hillebrand.

The statue of Erasmus, in bronze, is still visible in Rotterdam, not far from the Saint-Laurent church. It was commissioned in 1618 from the sculptor Hendrick de Keyser (1565-1621) and cast in 1622, shortly after the latter's death.

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Hillebrand van der Aa, Daniel Stoopendaal
Statue of Erasmus from Rotterdam, Netherlands, late ^17th or early ^18th century
© Historical Museum of the Reformation, Geneva

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