Painters in the Reign of ^e en' Elizabeth, 22 J 



of her majefty, we are fo lucky as to poffefs 

 the portraits of almoft all the great men of 

 her reign, and though the generality of 

 painters at that time were not equal to the 

 fubje6ls on which they were employed, yet 

 they were clofe imitators of nature, and 

 have perhaps tranfmitted more faithfull re-» 

 prefentations, than we could have expe<^ed 

 from men of brighter imagination. The 

 firft painter who feems to have made any 

 figure in this reign, was 



LUCAS DE HEERE, 



Born at Ghent in 1534, of a family pecu- 

 liarly addidled to the arts. John his fa- 

 ther was a good ftatuary and archite6l : 

 Anne Smitter his mother painted in minia- 

 ture, and with fuch diminutive neatnefs, 

 that fhe executed a landfcape with a wind- 

 mill, millers, a cart and horfe and pafTen- 

 gers J and half a grain of corn would cover 

 the whole compofition. The father went 



damafk, oftrich-feathers, or furs of conies ; none not 

 worth 200/. or 20/. in living certain, to wear chamb- 

 let : no ferving-man, under the degree of a gentleman, 

 to wear any fur, fave lamb ; nor cloth above ten fhil- 

 lings the yard. 



often 



