Portret van Robert de Sorbon aan zijn schrijftafel c. 1610 - 1683

Gérard Jollain created this portrait of Robert de Sorbon, the founder of the Sorbonne, using engraving techniques in the 17th century. It’s a moment captured in ink, framed by foliage, showing de Sorbon at his writing table, quill in hand, surrounded by the tools of scholarship. De Sorbon’s legacy is complex. On one hand, he was a man of the church, deeply entrenched in the religious and intellectual life of his time. On the other hand, he opened education to students from less privileged backgrounds, challenging the elitist norms of the era. His work existed within a society rigidly defined by class and religious doctrine, where access to education and power was severely limited. This portrait invites us to consider the figures we elevate as symbols of knowledge and progress. It asks us to reflect on whose stories are told and whose are left in the margins. It reminds us that even those who champion education and learning operate within, and are shaped by, the societal structures of their time.