English School, 17th century

The leading Protestant theologian of the second quarter of the 16th century, Calvin was born in France where he trained as a lawyer. He broke with the Catholic Church around 1530 and thereafter was based in Switzerland. After 1541 Geneva became his headquarters until his death some 15 years later. He established new forms of church government and a new liturgy which in due time would become known as Calvinism. With Luther he is credited as being the leading figure in the Reformation. There are few contemporary, or indeed near contemporary, portraits of Calvin. This one is loosely based on an anonymous portrait now in the collection of the Bibliothèque de Genève,¹ painted in 1562, which was later engraved in reverse by René Boyvan (1525-98).²

¹ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_john_calvin.jpg

² https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Calvin_1562.jpg