Hendrick de Keyser Erasmus (1622)

The statue of Erasmus is the oldest statue in the Netherlands. Erasmus was one of the most important representatives and pioneers of the Renaissance in Northern Europe and in 1509 wrote the book “Lof der Zotheid”. Erasmus was born in Rotterdam and called himself Erasmus Roterodamus - Erasmus of Rotterdam – and became a symbol of the Maasstad. Hendrick de Keyser made the design for this bronze statue of Erasmus, most likely based on portrait paintings and drawings made during his lifetime, including by Hans Holbein the Younger. The clothing as well as the look and the posture, reading with hands on a thick book, correspond with this. Together they give an image of the man as a humanist. The bronze statue is larger than life and is also raised far above the viewer by a two-meter high pedestal. The slight bend in his robe makes it seem as if Erasmus while reading. His left hand supports the large book in which he is reading, with his right hand he turns a page. De Keyser received the commission for the statue in 1618. The statue was placed on the Grote Markt in 1622 and remained there until the bombing of May 1940. It survived the attack and was buried in the courtyard of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, where it remained until after the liberation in 1945. After that, the statue stood on the Coolsingel in front of the Erasmus flat by architect Dudok, but it had to be included in the museum again later, when the metro was built. After that, Erasmus its place on the St. Laurensplaats, now called the Grotekerkplein. In the night of 21 to 22 November 1996, the statue miraculously fell. For more information: Sculpture International Rotterdam