Portret van Johann Sturm op 63-jarige leeftijd 1570 - 1584

This is an undated engraving of Johann Sturm at 63 years old, made by an anonymous artist. Sturm was a German humanist educator and theologian, who served as the rector of the Protestant school of Strasbourg for nearly forty years. Engravings like these were frequently made of scholars, nobles, and merchants in northern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, and were used as calling cards and keepsakes that circulated amongst the literate upper class. Sturm’s severe but kindly demeanor and conservative dress code – the soft cap and fur-lined robes – speak to his status as a figure of civic importance within the religious and educational institutions of Strasbourg. A small pendant hangs from his neck, probably an emblem connected to the University. These images are valuable to historians precisely because of their status as ephemeral, everyday objects; they reveal details about fashion, social class, and professional life in early modern Europe that can supplement traditional archival research.