Bonifacius Amerbach described Erasmus of Rotterdam as "the greatest among the circle of scholars." This dictum also adorns the chest in which Amerbach kept the heirlooms left to him by Erasmus. He also possessed the portraits of Erasmus by Holbein. Amerbach was thus able to combine the veneration of intellectual greatness with the impetus to collect. In in doing so, he established the archetype of a sociocultural scholar's identity. Remigius Faesch followed this model. Some of the same things were found in both collections - sometimes even as copies. Thus, Remigius Faesch also inscribed himself in the intellectual culture of Basel and continued it, building on his predecessor’s efforts. The fact that Amerbach and Faesch are still regarded as founding figures of the 'Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel' keeps this tradition alive.