LOW COUNTRIES, ENGRAVERS OF THE. 



partly hiflorical and partly allegoric ; forne arc from the 

 Chrillian, and others from the heathen mythology ; and it 

 would be difficult, if it be practicable, to conncft the whole 

 on principle. The feveiith print is infcribed " Gheprint tot 

 Aemllelredam, by Doen Pieter toon in Enghelenburch,'' 

 and all are marked with the monogram of the artill. 



Befide thefe, arc fome proceffions , of which we know 

 not the titles or number, fram the grarer of Walther of 

 Airen,anda fmall upright print of an armed figure on horfe- 

 back, with the enfign of the caftle of St. Angclo, infcribed 

 " St. Hadrianum. Amftelodamus in ^dibus Donardi Petri 

 ad figne Caltri Angelica.'' The whole are after his own 

 compofitions. 



Lucas Jacobs of Lcyden, the earlieft engraver on copper 

 that the Low Countries produced, was an honour to his 

 age and country. His country appears to have thought fo, 

 and hence in fome parts of Europe liis family name is nearly 

 loft, and he is univcrfally known by the appellation of Lucas 

 van Ley den. 



Lucas was born in the year 1494, and was the fon of 

 Hugues Jacobs, a painter, but not of much talent or repu- 

 tation, and whofe chief glory has been reflefled from the 

 brightnefs of his fon's abilities. Obtaining a rudimental ac- 

 quaintance with art under his paternal roof, Lucas began, 

 even during the age of adolefcence, to diftinguilTi himfelf by 

 his drawings and his extraordinary attempts in the arts of 

 painting and engraving. He finilhed his elementary lludies 

 in the fchool of Cornelius Engelbrecht, who was then in the 

 height of reputation. But perhaps his greatell happinefs 

 as an artift, confifted in his living at the fame period with 

 Albert Durer, between whom and himfelf the moft inti- 

 mate and fincere fricndfliip, and the utmofl: freedom and li- 

 berality of profeffional communication, fubfifted : for Durer, 

 who was the fenior of our artifl by more than twenty years, 

 on feeing fome of his youthful produftions, is faid to have 

 conceived for him the moft lively efteem, which gave birtli 

 to a correfpondence, generous and difinteretted at firft on 

 the part of the German, and which by degrees grew familiar 

 and friendly on botli tides. The biographers of Lucas 

 have reported, that becweeri the age of nine years and twelve, 

 he executed a print of St. Hubert, for which he was re- 

 warded by a certain burgomafter with as many guilders as he 

 was years of age. The prefent writer has not feen this ju- 

 venile produftion, nor has he found it mentioned in thofe fo- 

 reign catalogues which he has confulted of the works of 

 our artift. He therefore prefumes it ma)- have been a copy, 

 done for praftice and improvement in the new art, of the 

 juftly celebrated work of Albert Durer, which is thus en- 

 titled, and that it was probably among thofe early and fur- 

 prizing produilions which called forth the favourable notice 

 of the artift of Nuremberg, and became the bafis of the 

 fubfequent intimacy between Albert and Lucas, which 

 ended but with the life of the former. 



Each of thefe diftinguiftied artifts regularly fent as pre- 

 fents to his friend, felefted imprefjions (for the mercantile 

 trickeries of proof-taking and proof-making had not then 

 been invented) of every engraving which he pablifhed ; 

 and when Durer was driven from Nuremberg "by the ill- 

 lemper of his wife, he fought refuge at Leyden, was 

 received by Jacobs in the moft cordial and affeflionate man- 

 ner, and to commemorate their mutual friendfliip, befides 

 painting each other's portraits, they executed a pidlure in con- 

 junftion on the fame pannel. 



It ftiould have been mentioned before, that Lucas acquired 

 his knowledge of the ufe of the graver in the workfhop of a 

 goldfmith of Leyden, and that of the procefs of etching, 

 lie obtained from an armourer of that city, who employed 



the corrofivc power of aquafortis in ornamenting cuiralles, 

 and other confpicuous parts of plate armour. The prefent 

 writer has, in another work, ftated his conjetlure, that the an- 

 cient corroded fword-blades of Syria and Damafcus are the 

 probable origin of the art of etching on copper, and now 

 fufpefts that he may have been miftaken in attributing (as he 

 has done under the article Etchinc;) its invention to Albert 

 Durer. He now thinks it not improbable that Lucas im- 

 parted this art of corrofion to his friend, either by letter, or, 

 he fliould fancy, during the refidence of the latter at Ley- 

 den, if there were not grounds for fnppofing that this jour- 

 ney was not imdertaken until after the year 1516, when Du- 

 rer's firft etching (of which the fubjeft is the rape of Pro- 

 fcrpine) was produced. And he thinks fo the rather from 

 reflecting on the generally received report, that the two ear- 

 lieft of Albert's etchings were performed on plates of iron 

 or ftcel : yet Lucas's etching of St. Catherine, which is 

 believed to be his firft produdliou in this art, did not appear 

 until the year 1520. 



Lucas of Ltyden was frank, generous, and urbane, as 

 well by nature as by habit ; yet his generofity in fome in- 

 ftances was requited with ingratitude ; and his urbanity, if 

 we miglit credit the tale which is related below, did not (hield 

 him from the (hafts of envy and malevolence. Confpicuous 

 by his rare and fingular endowments, and unremitting ia his 

 habits of profeffional induftry, the novelty, beauty, and 

 number of his publications could fcarcely fail to enrich him. 

 Strutt fays "he gained much money by his profeffion, and 

 being of a generous turn of mind, had not the leaft notion 

 of (hutting up his money in his cheft ; on the contrary, he 

 fpent it freely, dreffed well, and lived in a fuperior ftyle." 



To enjoy his popularity, or improve liis tafte, he made a 

 journey intoZealand and Brabant, at the age of thirty-three, 

 giving entertainments to the artills in moft of the great 

 towns and cities through which he pa (Ted ; and it is report- 

 ed, that during this journey, a flow poifon, which was fatal 

 to our artift, was adminiftered to him at one of thefe enter- 

 tainments by a painter of Flu(hing, who was envious of the 

 fame which followed the exercife of his various talents. But 

 the honour of human nature (hould perhaps incline us not 

 to liften too readily to ftories of this kind. No delicacy 

 (hould have led, and no pardon was likely to lead, to the re- 

 prcffion of the name of the author of a deed fo atrocious. 

 Yet he was never pointed out : and it muft be a flow poifon 

 indeed ! that is fix years in effefting its purpofe. 



It feems more worthy of belief that the real poifon of Lu- 

 cas van Leyden, confifted of a mixture of the occafional ex- 

 celTes of convivial indulgence, with habits of intenfe pro- 

 feffional apjMication. Contrarieties which can never affimi- 

 late, few conftitutions can endure ; and fo anxious and un- 

 remitting was the application of Lucas, that he found the 

 day too (hort for his purpofe, and frequently confumed great 

 part of the night alfo in his ftudies. 



Even ^luring tlie laft fix years of his fife, wliile he lay 

 p;ning under the pretfure of difeafe, or at leaft oppre(redby 

 a ficknefs under which ordinary minds would have languifhed, 

 his induftry and love of art were eminently confpicuous. 

 When it was reprefented to )iim that fuch clofe attention did 

 but increafe the malignity of his diforder, he calmly replied, 

 " I am content it fhould be fo, fince, by my ftudies, I endea- 

 vour to make my bed of ficknefs a bed of honour. An 

 artift can never die in a more fuitable manner than with his 

 pencil in his hand." 



He died accordingly at the age ot thirty-nine in his native 

 city, and in the year of our Lord 1553. 



Befide engraving both on copper and on wood, Lucas 

 painted in oil, in diftemper, and upon glafs, cxcrcifing the 



latter 



