Terminus, the Device of Erasmus

c. 1532

Hans Holbein the Younger

(German, active England and Switzerland, 1497/98–1543)

Culture

Germany

Medium

oil on wood

Measurements

Framed: 32.4 x 32.4 x 4.5 cm (12 3/4 x 12 3/4 x 1 3/4 in.); Unframed: 21.6 x 21.6 cm (8 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Sherman E. Lee in memory of Milton S. Fox 1971.166

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Location

114 Late Northern Renaissance

Did You Know?

Tree ring analysis helped determine the date of this painting.

Description

In the spirit of the Italian Renaissance, Erasmus of Rotterdam (c. 1466–1536), the celebrated Dutch humanist and scholar, embraced ancient Greek and Roman literature and incorporated much of its moral and ethical messages into his own work. Holbein here conflates Erasmus’s features with Terminus, the Roman god of boundaries, who defied Jupiter by maintaining his position atop Capitoline Hill. Erasmus adopted Terminus, along with the motto concedo nulli (I concede to no one), as a personal symbol for devotion and steadfastness.