This permanent artwork was commissioned in the context of the large-scale transformation of the campus of the Erasmus University and developed in a stimulating multi-disciplinary discourse on transhistorical curating and the inclusion of cultural heritage in contemporary artworks. Der Stein des Weisen consists of two elements: a monumental sculpture shaped like a thought or speech bubble that reflects its surroundings and the historical pedestal that carried Hendrick de Keyser’s statue of Erasmus for centuries. After the original pedestal was replaced in 1964, it fell into oblivion and was left to disintegrate for fifty years until Schlegel revived the former carrier of the oldest public statue of the Netherlands, brought it back into the public sphere, to be preserved as a relic of a vivid history, within a modern constellation. This witness of the changing perspectives on Erasmus over the past centuries is now the core of a new work of art that raises questions about the historical reception and actuality of Erasmus’s ideas, as well as the iconography of his image as a symbol of the city and the university. This transhistorical work of art safeguards the nearly forgotten base for the future with a glass shelter and leaves open the possibility of one day being reunited with its original bronze statue. The remaining footprint of the statue invites the beholder to follow in Erasmus’ footsteps, contemplate the philosopher’s thoughts and re-examine his legacy.
The title of the work literally refers to the pedestal that carried the famous Erasmus statue for nearly 300 years, i.e. the stone of the wise scholar, and it refers to lapis philosophorum – the ‘stone of the philosophers.’ Lapis philosophorum is the legendary alchemical substance capable of transforming base metals into noble metals. Traditionally, the quest for this impossible element symbolizes the human desire for material wealth, as well as knowledge and enlightenment.
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Der Stein des Weisen