In both word and image, Dirck Volckertsz Coornhert (1522-1590) was a pioneer. For instance, he wrote the very first ethics in a European vernacular, a groundbreaking treatise on the treatment of criminals and a unique language booklet for “ionghers ende maechdekens” (boys and girls).
Besides many prose texts, he wrote poems, songs and plays. As an artist, Coornhert designed and “carved” hundreds of top-quality engravings, with which he could also reach illiterate people with his ideas on tolerance, freedom of speech and the importance of correct knowledge for a good life.
The anthology Visions of Virtue brings together for the first time a rich selection of Coornhert's work. The texts and engravings in this book offer a view of one of the first champions of tolerance and freedom of conscience. At the same time, they also throw a surprising light on such highly topical issues as truth versus lies, democracy versus autocracy and sober thinking versus gut feeling.
270 pages, 2025