Allard Pierson: Read his Letters Online

The name Allard Pierson (1831–1896) may not immediately ring a bell with everyone, despite the fame of the museum in Amsterdam that bears his name. Yet Allard Pierson was an influential thinker who made a significant contribution to religious, philosophical, and literary life in the second half of the nineteenth century. Thanks to the Allard Pierson Project, his correspondence is now being digitised and made available online, with images of the original letters and searchable transcriptions.

Allard Pierson at his desk.

Allard Pierson was modern and open-minded. He believed that scientific discoveries could contribute to a better and more humane world. He left behind more than two thousand letters to contemporaries such as theologians, writers, and politicians. His correspondence offers a unique insight into the intellectual and religious debates of his time.

Pierson was a minister in Leuven and Rotterdam, professor of theology in Heidelberg, and later professor of art history, aesthetics, and modern languages in Amsterdam. He also became an authoritative literary critic.

The Allard Pierson Project

The Allard Pierson Project is being carried out by Dr Jan Prins of the NL-Lab. This is a collaboration between the Meertens Institute and the Huygens Institute, and forms part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). The NL-Lab conducts research into Dutch culture and identity, past and present, using both traditional and digital research methods.

The letters of Allard Pierson have been largely collected and transcribed by Prof Dr Willem Balke, assisted by Benjamin van Bilsen MA. The preliminary results of their work were transferred to the Huygens ING, where Benjamin van Bilsen continued the project. Some of the final work has been carried out by Nina Wijsbek MA and is currently being continued by Dr Jan Prins.

Prof Jan de Bruijn, Prof Olf Praamstra, Prof Hans Trapman, and Dr Gerlof Verwey act as advisors. Financial support is provided by the Coornhert Foundation.

Update October 2025

A large number of letters have recently been added to the digital collection. These are addressed to Pierson’s friend Adriaan Gildemeester, Member of Parliament; to his sister and Pierson’s future wife Pauline Gildemeester; and to his parents – especially his father Jan Lodewijk Gregory Pierson, a businessman active in the Christian Revival movement.

These letters form the heart of the collection. They reveal who Allard Pierson was: a man who grappled with the religious crises of his time and constantly sought an alternative to dogmatic thinking, without falling into doubt.

In the coming years, another 700 letters will be digitised, including those to his brothers Hendrik and Nicolaas, and to his eldest son Jan Lodewijk Pierson.