LOW COUNTRIES, ENGRAVERS OF THE. 



before him," a fmall plate lengthways. Two fmall upright 

 plates : one rcprefenting a man carrying a boat, and the 

 other, a woman with a child in her arms. Jerome Hopfer 

 has copied both thefe figures on one plate, much larger, 

 and decorated the head of tlie woman with ftars and a glory. 

 " A Sacrifice to Priapus," (which is generally attributed 

 to M. Antonio, becaufe it has his tablet,) is copied fmaller 

 by this artift, and the indecency which appears in the 

 former plate is here omitted. It reprefents a woman Hand- 

 ing by the altar, and another oppofite to her, holding an 

 infant ; and an old woman's head appears in the back- 

 ground. Tliis is the only print by this mailer, with which 

 we are acquainted, that does not appear to have been en- 

 graven from his own compofition ; and it, more than any 

 other circumftance, affills us in fettling his chronology. 



Cornelius Matfy?, or Metenfis, was born fome time about 

 the year 1500, and we believe in the Low Countries: 

 though he appears to have refided much in Italy ; and it 

 is not improbable that he was the difciple of George 

 Peins. We have a great number of engravings by him, 

 both from his own compofuions and thofe of the Italian 

 painters. His ftyle of engraving bears fuperior refem- 

 blance to that of Babylone in neatnefs and delicacy of exe- 

 cution, but his figures are much more in the Italian talte, 

 and are not deftitute of elegance and proportion. Strutt 

 has fuppofed there were two artills of thefe names, but the 

 foreign writers mention only one. His monogram will 

 be found in our firft plate of thofe ufed by the engravers of 

 the Low Countries. 



We fliall mention the following' prints by this artift. 

 " Erneft, count of Mansfeld," a print of quarto fize ; " Cleo- 

 patra with the Afp," a fmall print, dated 1550. An old 

 man and tvvo old women, one of whom holds a baiket of 

 eggs, a fmall print, dated 1549. "Judith with the Head 

 of Holofenies,'' dated 1539. A battle, a fmall upright 

 plate, from G. Peins. " A HcJy Family," where the Vir- 

 gin is reprcfented holding the infant on a cradle, carefling 

 the little St. John, from Kaphael, of folio fize. (This is from 

 the fame pidlure that was afterward engraven by F. de Poil'y 

 in France.) " The Miraculous Draught of Fifhes," from 

 Raphael. The Plague, a fubjeft known in Italy under 

 tlie name of " II Morbetto,'' engraved by M. Antonio, 

 and regraved by Cornelius Met, with Ws monogram, and the 

 name of Raphael, folio fize. " Chrift laid in the Sepul- 

 chre," from an etching by Parmegiano, of quarto fize. 



Of Jerome Bofehe, or Bos, an ancient painter and en- 

 graver of grotefque fubjcfts, we have already treated, (fee 

 the article Bos,) but, by miftake, have placed his death 

 in the year 1500, copying the error of Strutt. Accord- 

 ing to the bett foreign authorities he vi-as not born till 

 1498 ; the final period of his life they have not recorded. 

 His Gothic manner of fubfcribing his works will be found 

 in our Plate I. o^ the monograms, &c. ufed by the en- 

 gravers of the Low Countries. 



Befides thofe of his works which we have already men- 

 tioned, he engraved "The Temptation ot St. Anthony," 

 on wood, which being dated in the year 1522, corrobo- 

 rates the chronology which we now offer. " The Miracu- 

 lous Vifion of the Emperor Conllantine," in quarto; " Jefus 

 baptized by John," a folio print, with the name of Bos. A 

 folio print rcprefenting a number of grotefque figures, in- 

 fcribed, " Al dat op," &c. ,Ier. Bol'che. Another folio 

 print of the fame kind, infcribed, " Defe Jeroninius Bofch; 

 drollen." An allegorical print, of an elephant, infcribed, 

 " H. Bos inv." Paul de la Ilouwe, cxc. in folio. 



Cornelius Bus, or Bofc, or Vandcn Bofch, was born at 

 Bois le-Duc, in Flanders, fome time about the year 1510. 



In his youth he went into Italy, and eftabhrtied himfelf st 

 Rome, where, exclufive of his profeffion as an engraver, he 

 carried on a confiderable commerce in prints. A fubjeft 

 engraved by him, of females at different domeflic employ- 

 ments, with a German infcription, beginning tlius, "Alim 

 die ein from bidert Weib iiberknmpt, &c." has made M. de 

 Heinneken think that Cornelius was a German, and that in 

 Italy he changed his name to Bus ; hut the general opinion 

 is, that he was born where we have Hated above, and that liij 

 true name was Bofch. 



His ilyle of engraving fometimes refembles that of Marc 

 de Ravenna ; at other times that of Eneas Vico. He never 

 arrived at any fuperior detrree of excellence. He worked 

 entirely with the graver, in a lliff", dry, ftyle, without tafte. 

 His drawing is by no means correft ; neither are the heads 

 and other extremities of his figures fufRciently attended to ; 

 and from the lights being diffufed, and the feeblenefs of the 

 maffes of fhadow, his engravings are ufually deftitute of 

 effeft. He has engraved after his own compofitions and 

 thofe of other mailers ; and he commonly marked Ins prints 

 with one or other of the monograms which will be found at- 

 tached to his name in our firft plate of thofe ufed by the en- 

 gravers of the Low Countries. 



The following prints may be reckoned among his beft. 

 " The Laft Judgment,'' marked with his cypher, and dated 

 1530, of q-iarto fize; " Lot and his Daughters," with his 

 monogram, dated i^-jo, of folio fize ; " King David jiving 

 the fatal Letter to Uriah," dated 1546 ; " Our Saviour 

 preaching to the Jews," in folio ; " Venus oa her Car,'' 

 in quarto, dated 1546 ; " Vulcan in his Forge," in folio, 

 1546, all marked with his cypher ; " Combat of the Cen- 

 taurs and Lapitha?," on two large plates, dated 15,0; "A 

 Monk feized by Death," in quarto, marked with the mo- 

 nogram. An equeftrian ftatue of Marcus Aureliu?, in 

 folio, with the monogram. A fet of fixteen plates of gro- 

 tefque arms and trophies, engraved at Rome in the years 

 ijjo and 15;^. Another fet of caryatides and therV.ies. 

 " Mofes receiving the Tablets of the Law," from Raphael, 

 in folio, l^Jt ; "Triumph of Bacchus," a large print, 

 lengthways, engraved on three plates from Julio Romano, 

 dated 1543; "The Entombing of Chrift," a folio plate, 

 dated 1554, from Francifco Floris, marked " Corneiiu? Bus 

 fecit ;"• " Mofes breaking the Tablets of the Law," foho, 

 from Raphael, datedljjo. 



Having already treated of the family of Breughel, which 

 flouriftied as painters and engravers at the period now under 

 our notice (fee the article Breughel), it remains onlv to 

 add in this place, that Peter B.'-eughel the younger, fur- 

 named, or rather «;VZ'-named " the Heililh," was the princi- 

 pal engraver of that family, and the chief of his engravings 

 (which are fomewhat numerous, and rendered very entertain- 

 ing by his peculiarities) are as follow. They are generally- 

 marked with a monogram, which will be found in our firit 

 plate of thofe ufed by the engravers of the Low Coun- 

 tries. 



A large foho plate of a village fete : a banner is dif-. 

 played over the door of a cabaret, and of the numerous 

 figures introduced, fome are (kirmilhing, otliers rejoicing, 

 and others quarreUing, Another folio print of " Peafaiits 

 rejoicing ;" " The Feaft of the Archers,'' in which the 

 banner of their company is difplayed before an arbour, in- 

 fcribed " Dit isde Guide." A very rare wood engraving of 

 a mafquerade, known by the name of " Valentine and Or- 

 fpn ;" " Mercury and Pfyche," the landfcape part of which 

 is a view on the Rhine ; " Dedalus and Icarus," companion 

 to the above, being another view on the Rhine ; both are in- 

 3 L 2 fcribed 



