Portret van Johann Dryander 1597 - 1599

This is Robert Boissard’s ‘Portret van Johann Dryander,’ made in the late 16th century. It is a portrait of Johann Dryander, who was a German anatomist, astronomer, and mathematician during the Renaissance. This portrait gives insight into the world of 16th-century scientific and intellectual life, with attention to Dryander's identity as a scholar. His stern expression and gaze convey a sense of intellectual authority. The Latin inscriptions add to the portrait’s aura of scholarly importance by linking him to both earthly arts and heavenly bodies. It speaks to the status and the serious intellectual labor of men of science and letters in the Renaissance. As we look at this image, we are invited to consider the values and assumptions embedded in the historical construction of knowledge and the individuals who shaped it.