When the eminent educator and religious reformer moved to Amsterdam in 1657, a number of influential citizens sponsored him. With their support, Comenius was able to quickly publish his collected didactic works and a Dutch translation of one of his Latin primers in 1658. Both were illustrated by Crispijn van de Passe II, who had an international pedigree equaling that of the author and much experience with translating epistemic concepts into pictures. De Passe’s engravings differ entirely from the woodcuts made for the Orbis Pictus issued in Nuremberg in the same year and have not been subject to art historical investigation. In return for the generous support, Comenius taught the sons of his sponsors, using the said illustrated Latin primer. This exceptionally ‘thick’ historical context allows us to get a glimpse at how Comenius’ teaching philosophy - that grounded knowledge-making in everyday experience and thus prefigures essential reform pedagogical paradigms - was brought into practice. In particular, we may reconstruct how De Passe's pictures meticulously served an educational approach that famously advocated ‘learning by doing’.

Prof. Dr. Ann-Sophie Lehmann hat Kunstgeschichte in Wien und in Utrecht studiert, wo sie 2004 promoviert wurde. An der Universität Utrecht war sie im Fachbereich Media & Cultural Studies als Assistant und Associate Professor tätig. Seit 2015 ist sie Lehrstuhlinhaberin für Art History & Material Culture an der Universität Groningen.