Desiderius Erasmus (1467-1536) stands as a leading humanist in Europe during the time of the Reformation for exposing the abuses of the church through his various publications, most notably The Colloquia first published in 1519. Durer had met Erasmus at least three times during his trip to the Netherlands in 1520-21 but no finished portrait of Erasmus by Durer is known to us until he produced this engraving several years later.