Adamus Lonicerus Med. Phiisic' Francf. ad Moenum.

About this artwork

Mogelijk prent uit: Boissard, Jean-Jacques; Bry, Theodoor de; e.a. Bibliotheca sive thesaurus virtutis et gloriae in quo continentur illustrium eruditione et doctrina virorum effigies et vitae (...). Frankfurt: Guilielmi Fitzeri, 1628.

Art Historical Context

This engraving by Robert Boissard presents a portrait of Adamus Lonicerus, as a physician from Frankfurt am Main. Created between 1597 and 1599, the small-scale print measures just 141 by 108 millimeters and likely originated as part of a larger biographical project. It may have been included in the 1628 Frankfurt publication *Bibliotheca sive thesaurus virtutis et gloriae*, a compendium of portraits and lives celebrating learned men of the era. Boissard’s engraving technique reflects the period’s growing use of printed images to disseminate knowledge of notable scholars across Europe. Such portraits served both as visual records and as tributes to intellectual achievement, blending precise line work with a formal, dignified pose typical of Renaissance and early modern scholarly imagery. The work underscores the cultural importance of commemorating physicians and naturalists during the late sixteenth century, when printed collections helped shape collective memory of scientific contributors. Its modest size and detailed execution highlight engraving’s role in making these tributes accessible within bound volumes for educated audiences.

About the Artist

Robert Boissard · 1586–1691

Robert Boissard (c. 1570–after 1630) was a French engraver and draughtsman whose work exemplifies the transition from late Renaissance to early Baroque printmaking in France. Born around 1570 in Valence, Boissard belonged to an artistic family and was a relative of the distinguished scholar and artist Jean-Jacques Boissard (1528–1602), whose monumental biographical and archaeological publications ...