LOW COUNTRIES, ENGRAVERS OF THE, 



Morin, are well known. In the colk-ftion of the abbe MaroUes 

 were three hundred and forty-three of the engravings of Mal- 

 lery; among the bell of which may be mentioned "The Ado- 

 ration of the Kings," in l2mo.; "The youthful Saviour," in 

 a landfcapc, accompanied by two angels ; " The Canaanitifh 

 Woman ;" " A Crucifix," held by a man furrounded with 

 allegorical figures ; " St. Francis;" and "St. Jacintha," 

 in i2mo. ; "The Holy Family," accompanied by a Mag- 

 dalen, in 4to. ; " Clu-ill among the DoAors," in i2mo. ; 

 various heads of Chrill, the Virgm Mary, the apoftles, 

 faints, &c. Some of the plates, for the great hunts by 

 Stradan, which were produced in conjunftion with the 

 Gallcs, Collaerts, &c. in 410. The hiltory of the filk 

 worms (which were brought by two monks into Europe), 

 on fix middUng-fized plates, lengthways, from J. Stradan, 

 entitled " Vermis Sericus ;" a bull of " St. Anthony," in 

 an hiftorical border, after Stradan ; the fable of " The Man, 

 his Son, and his Afs, going to the Fair," in four 4to. plates ; 

 and various plates of horfes, for a book entitled " De la 

 Cavalerie Francaife," in 410 , from the fame painter. 



Having already treated of the education and general merits 

 as an artift of Paul Bril, of Antwerp, who performed fome 

 fpirited etchings of landfcape fcenery about the period now 

 under our review, it remains but to mention fuch of his 

 etchings as are held in moll i-equefl among connoifTeurs. 

 Thefe are all of folio dimenfions, and arc known by the fol- 

 lowing defignations : a pair of views in the Campania of 

 Italy, with rocky fore-grounds, adorned with buildings, &c. 

 dated 1590 ; another pair, infcribcd " Paulus Bril inv. et fee. 

 Vicenzo Cenoiformis Roma: ;" another view in the Cam- 

 pania, of the upright form ; four landfcapes belonging to 

 a fet, of which the remainder are engraved by Nieulandt. 

 Sandrart mentions alfo a large and grand engraving by this 

 artift, of which the fubjert is a view in the Campo Vaccino. 

 For further information refpetting this artill, fee the article 

 Bril in our fifth volume. 



Chriftopher Van Sichem was born in Holland in the 

 year 1580, and refided chiefly at Amfterdam. He was in- 

 ftrufted in the principles of engraving by Goltzius, from 

 whom he copied fome good portraits. The merit of his 

 engravings on copper, cunfiils principally in the neatnefs of 

 their executions, but thofe on wood, after his mailer, are 

 engraved in a bold ftyle, and often pofTefs a good effeft, 

 though he wanted tafte. His monogram will be found in 

 our fecond pkte of thofe ufed by the engravers of the Low 

 Countries. 



The moll; confiderable work he executed is intitled 

 " Iconia Haerefiarcharum," &c. It confiits of a great num- 

 ber of fmall upright plates, of the principal reformers of 

 the church, is engraved from his own defigns, and was pub- 

 lilhed at Amfterdam in 1609. 



On Copper. — A profile of Johannes Calvinua Nouioduni, 

 holding a book, furrounded with an hiftorical border; 

 David Georgius Delphis, in Batavia, pcrniciofillima; feftx 

 auftor ; Durch Chnftop Von Sichem, Formjchncidcr und 

 Kupfirjlecher (i. e. cutter of wood, and engraver of copper) ; 

 Rob. Dudleus, Leyceftriae comes ; Francis Valefins, dux 

 Alengon ; the emperor Charles V. in the imperial coftume, 

 infcnbed " Carolus quintus Impcrator Cajiar Auguftus;" 

 and queen Elizabeth, in regal attire ; all of quarto dimen- 

 fions. The two latter portraits hare been by fome attri- 

 buted to Charles Van Sichem. Chriftopher alfo engraved 

 the whole-length portraits of the earls of Holland and 

 Zealind, in folio, from drawings by himfelf. 



On Wood. — A fet of twelve hiftorical fubjcfts, in i2mo. 

 rare ; " Efther before King Ahafuerus," in 410. from Lucas 

 of Leyden ; " The Adoration cf the Shepherds," after Ab. 



f II 



Bloemart; "The Circumcifion," after H. Goltzius; "Judith 

 with the Head of Holofernes," all in 4to. ; " St. Cecilia 

 playing on the Organ," and four other figures finging ; buft 

 of a man, with a hat and feathers, all from the fame painter ; 

 buft of an African prince, with a helmet ornamented with 

 diamonds and feathers, from J. Matham ; a fet of four, 

 reprefenting Judith, Sifera, David, and Sampfon, from 

 H. Goltzius ; and a fet of four, reprefenting the Evange- 

 lills, with a hiftory of their lives in Dutch ; very meritorious 

 prints : all the latter are of folio dimenfions. 



The baron Hcinneken mentions two other Dutch engra- 

 vers of the name cf Van Sichem (■uiz. Cornelius and 

 Charles) ; and Papillon and Baflan, the latter copying and 

 magnifying the error of the former, has given ideal exift- 

 ence to a third. 



Cornelius is often confounded with Chriftopher, but was 

 of interior talent. He was of the fame family, and flou- 

 riftied about forty years afterwards. 



Of laborious induftry, and as if pleafureable ftimuli rarely 

 reached his mind, he fcraped together not fewer than 600 

 fubjefts of figures of holy perfocages, fcripture hiftories, 

 and legendary tales, which he engraved in a ftiff and heavy 

 ftyle, but many of them were copies from prints. 



Charles was alfo of the fame family, and engraved both 

 on copper and on wood, but his prints merit not much atten- 

 tion. Their feveral monograms will be found in Plate II. 



Jacques de Gheyn, or Ghein, the elder, was born at 

 Antwerp in the year 1565, and died in 1615. He learned 

 the elements of painting of his father, who was a painter on 

 glafs ; and engraving he ftudied under Henry Goltzius. 

 He fuccefsfully imitated the manner of his mailer, and 

 worked with the graver only, in a bold free ftyle, which 

 manifefts the great command he had of that inftrument. 

 He drew corretlly and frequently with much tafte ; but all 

 his works want efteft, from the lights being fcattered, and 

 too equally powerful ; neither are the niaflcs of fhadow 

 fufficiently broad, nor well harmonized. The number of his 

 engravings amount to one hundred and feventy. He likcwife 

 painted flowers and fmall figures with confiderable ability. 

 The monogram of this artift will be found in Plate II. of 

 thofe ufed by the engravers of the Low Countries. Among 

 his works the following are moll worthy of notice. 



Po/-/;-i2;/j.— Tycho Brahc, the celebrated Danifti aftrono- 

 mer ; Abraham Gokevius, a famous antiquary of Amfter- 

 dam ; Hugo Grotius, the Itill more famous philofopher ; 

 and Philip de Marnex, a diftinguiftied Calvinittic reformer, 

 all in 8vo. ; Cofmo de Medicis, who is here called " The 

 Father of his People," a circular print ; Sigifmond> Mala- 

 tefta, a military officer ; and Joannes Bafilowitfch, auto- 

 crator of Ruilia, all in 4to. 



SubjeUs from his own C ompqfit'wns . — " Vanity," repre- 

 fented by a fem.ale figure at her toilet ; " Mary Magda- 

 len," a fmall oval ; two fmall medallions of Mars and 

 Venus ; " A Giply telling a young Woman her Fortune," 

 in folio ; " The Statue of Laocoon and his Sons," in large 

 folio; " A Lion couchant," with a landfcape back-ground, 

 a very rare oval print, in folio. A fet of ten, very rare 

 and celebrated prints, in fmall folio, of Mafques. The 

 twelve firft Roman emperors, a fet of circular prints in 

 quarto, very much fought after ; " The Sabbath, or Ren- 

 dezvous of Sorcerers and Sorcerefles ;'' a large folio print, 

 engraved on two plates. 



Siibjdts after "various Painters. — The Paffion of our Sa- 

 viour, a fet of fourteen, engraved in coojundlion with his 

 pupil Zechariah Dolendo, after Van Mander, in oftavo ; 

 " The Twelve Sons of Ifrael," half-length figures, after 

 Karl van Mander, in quarto ; two emblematical fubjefts, 



on 



