Terminus, the Device of Erasmus
c. 1532
- Medium
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 21.6 × 21.6 cm
- Status
- In Museum Collection
- Collect24 Art ID
- C24-109271
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.
Provenance
Fox, 1971.166
Registry history
- c. 1532 — Recorded in the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Registered on Collect24
The identity of the collector is never published. Purchase information, documents and the exact location of the artwork remain private.
Ownership not yet verified on Collect24
This artwork is documented in the Global Art Registry, but no Collect24 account is linked to it as the owner. Claiming keeps this record and its Collect24 Art ID — nothing is created a second time.
Do you own or represent this artwork? Claim this artwork →Auction history
Public sale records matched to this work. Ownership is never disclosed.
Loading sale records…