PORTRAIT OF ERASMUS, BUST LENGTH

Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) was a Dutch humanist and scholar whose work greatly influenced Martin Luther. He was raised in Rotterdam, but by 1495 was studying in Paris, then the chief seat of scholastic learning. He first travelled to England in 1498 and stayed in Oxford. With the accession of Henry VIII in 1509 he was invited to return to England and became Lady Margaret's Professor at Cambridge. Hans Holbein the Younger depicted Erasmus on several occasions and illustrated several of his works including Praise of Folly.