LOW COUNTRIES, ENGRAVERS OF THE. 



fculp. Londini, tempore incendii niaximi." It may be 

 worthy of note, that this engraving is dedicated to lir Peter 

 Lely, who was at that time the pofTcflbr of Vandyke's 

 pifture. 



It feems not improbable, that the low ftate of Englifh 

 latte, and paucity of artifts at that period, enabled Arnold 

 to live with more profit and confequent comfort in this 

 country than in his own, for his talents were very indifferent, 

 and by no means comnienfurate to his early opportunities 

 of acquiring profefiional information. 



It may be fufficient to mention the following prints from 

 his graver, of which the portraits will, generally fpeaking, 

 be found the belt. 



The Portraits of fir Peter Lely, in large folio, from a 

 pifture by fir Peter himfelf ; Alexander Browne, (prefixed 

 to his Ars Pidtoria,) m fmall folio, from J. Huyfmans ; 

 Catherine Howard, duchefs of Lenox, &c. in folio, after 

 Vandyke ; cardmal Palavicini, in 410. after Titian. 



Hifioucal, l^c. — " Mercury inllrufting Cupid," in fmall 

 folio, from Correggio, engraved in London, and dated 

 1667; "A Magdalen," a half-length figure from Van- 

 dyke. The folio print after Vandyke, mentioned in his 

 biography above ; and a landfcape after L. de Vadder, in 

 foUo. 



In the fixteenth century, the orthography of proper 

 names, as well as that of words, appears to have been ejfr- 

 tremely unfettled. On the continent, as well as in this 

 ifland, men fpelled varioudy, as they vanoufly eltimated the 

 powers of letters, and Printing was as yet too young to 

 have erefted a ftandard. 



John Wierix, Wierx, Wierinx, or Wirings, (for thus 

 capricioully has the orthography of this name varied from 

 itfelf,) was born at Amfterdam, in the year ijjo. His love 

 for the arts appears to have manifefted itfelf at a very early 

 period of his life. We know not from whom he learned 

 the firft principles of drawing and engraving ; perhaps he 

 owed them, as well as his fubfequent progrefs, principally to 

 kis own application and patient indullry. He ftudied the 

 works of Albert Durei" very attentively, and built his tafte 

 upon them ; but from too clofe and fervile a mode of copy- 

 ing them, he contrafted a ftiffnefs, of which he never di- 

 Telted himfelf. There is little or no originality in his prints. 

 His genius feems to have been confined, and he was fearful 

 of venturing beyond the bounds of a copyift. The incom- 

 parable neatnefs of his works executed with the graver 

 only, gives them, however, a value with the curious col- 

 leftor, which is encreafed by the correftnefs of his drawing, 

 and the manner in which the extremities of his figures are 

 marked, proves the great attention he muft have paid to that 

 part of his profeffion. His works are exceedingly muhi- 

 farious, confilling of devotional fubjefts of various kinds 

 and fizes ; from which the following may be felefted as 

 affording, on the whole, the mod fatisfadory fpecimens of 

 his abilities. 



Portraits of Rodolpho II. emperor of Germany ; PhiHp 

 William, prince of Orange, in 4to ; Eleanor of Bourbon, 

 princefs of Orange ; James I. of England, with his queen, 

 whole lengths, a I'mall upright plate, very fcarce ; Philip II. 

 of Spain; Catherine of Medicis, wife of Henry II. ; 

 Henry III. of France ;" and the countefs of Verneuil, all 

 of quarto dimenlions ; the laft is a companion to the por- 

 trait of Henry IV. engraven by Goltzius. 



Subjeds from his own Compofuions.- K fmall print of 

 " Chrill and the Virgin ;'' " The Refurreclion," in udavo; 

 "The Jefuit Martyrs," in 4to. with an explanation; :.n 

 allegorical fubjeft. called " The Penitent Heart," with 



Dutch infcriptions ; " The Magdalen," at the entrance of 

 a cell, reading before a crucifix, a very beautifully finifhed 

 print, both of quarto dimenfions ; an allegorical print, 

 called "The Redemption of Man," in folio; and "The 

 four Elements," of the fame fize. 



Sulje&s from •variotu Majlers — i^ fmall Satyr, from 

 Albert Durer, engraven by Wierix at the early age of 

 twelve, in lamo ; " Adam receiving the forbidden Fruit 

 from Eve;" a fmall upright plate, laborioufly copied from 

 the celebrated print of the fame fubjeft by Albert Durer. 

 It is dated 1566, and Weirix has added his own age, which 

 was only fixteen ; " St. Hubert at the Chace, proilrate be- 

 fore a Crucifix," a very fine copy from Albert Durer, 

 (whofe cypher it bears,) in lai-ge folio; " St. Jerom in 

 Meditation," a very good copy, done at the age of thir- 

 teen, in folio ; " The Marriage of St. Catherine," after 

 Dennis Calvaert, in quarto; "The Sacrifice of Ifaac," 

 from M. de Vos ; " Ehas tranflated to Heaven ;" " Chr.ft 

 taken from the Crofs," after Otho Vanius ; " Tiie Laft 

 Judgment," from Michael Angelo, a fine copy from the 

 print by Martin Rota ; and another " Dead Chnll," after 

 Bernardino Pafferi, all of folio dimenfions. 



Hieronymus or Jerome Wierix, was alfo born at Amfter- 

 dam in the year 1551, and is believed to have been the bro- 

 ther of John, of whom he learned the principles of drawing 

 and engraving, and imitated his ftyle with fo much precifion, 

 that it would be a matter of the utmoft difficulty to dilUnguifti 

 tiie works of the one from thofe of the other, were it not for 

 the marks with which they are infcribed. The prints of Je- 

 rom poftefs the fame extraordinary neatnefs, which we admire 

 in thofe of John, are as corredtly drawn, equally deficient in 

 tafte and freedom, and equally the refnit of careful labour. 



Jerom Wierix marked his plates with his initials, or a 

 monogram, which will be found in our fecond plate of thofe 

 ufed by the engravers of the Low Countries. His works 

 are ftill more numerous than thofe of his elder brother ; and 

 thofe moft worthy of efteem, are the foUowing. 



Portraits of the emperorCharlemagne, in octavo, decorated 

 with imperial ornaments ; Henry of Bourbon, king of Na- 

 varre; queen Elizabeth of England; Sigifmond III. of Po- 

 land ; Alexander Farnefe, duke of Parma; and fir Francis 

 Drake, all of very fmall fize ; John Coropi Becani, a phy- 

 fician, holding a flcuU, in folio ; De Conftain, and G. Ober- 

 ichie Delpheus, alfo in folio, 



SiibjeHs from his onvn Compojttions. — " St. Francis," 

 in i2mo. ; "St. Cecilia," in quarto; " St. Anthony, 

 held by the Devil," in i2mo. ; " St. Bruno," in octavo; 

 " St. Charles Borromeus," of the fame fize ; " St. An- 

 thony and St. Francis, to whom the Virgin prefents the 

 Infant Chrift ;" " The Holy Virgin fuckling the Infant 

 Jefns ;" " The Virgin Handing on a Crefcent, with the 

 Holy Infant furrounded with Rays of Glory," both in 

 12010.; "The Miraculous Conception;" "The Death 

 of Lucretia ;" " The four Monarchies of the World," on 

 four quarto plates ; " Chrift on the Crofs fufpended from a 

 Vine, lurrounded by four Saints," all of quarto fize ; an- 

 other " Chrift on tlie Crofs, in the midft of a Vine, fur- 

 rounded with Rays of Glory," the crucifix is fupported on 

 a bunch of grapes, which is held by the two Ifraelitifti fpies 

 of the bible, an odd conceit, in 8vo. 



Sul'jetls from various Mqftsrs. — "A dead Chrift, fupported 

 upon the "Lap of the Virgin," after John Mabufe ; •' Chrift 

 receiving little Children," from Crilpin van den Broeck ; 

 " Chrift on the Crofs," at the bottom of v.hich is intro- 

 duced the king David, St. Paul, and St. John the Baptift, 

 after the fame mafter ; " A Holy Family," where St. Ca- 



therine 



