LOW COUNTRIES, ENGRAVERS OF THE. 



Cafpar Barlaeus, doftor of medicine ; four fine portraits, 

 after John Spilbcrg ; •viz.. i. Philip William, count pala- 

 tine of the Rhine ; 2. Wolfgang William, count palatine ; 

 ^. Catherine de Medicis, and 4. Stephen Vacht, dean of 

 Sarten ; Claude Saumaife, after Dubordieu ; Henricus Re- 

 gius, Philof. et Med. from H. Bloemaert, all of folio fize ; 

 and D. Leonardus Marius Grezanus, in large folio, from 

 Moyart. 



HiJloriu!l,.i^c " The Virgin and Child, with St. Joim," 



after Baflan ; far the coUeftion of engravings from the 

 piftures in the cabinet of M. Reynot ; " A Holy Family," 

 a grand compofition, after Joachim Sandrart, in large folio; 

 " Sainte Be^ga, the Daughter of Peflin, duke of Brabant," 

 from Van Eyck, in folio ; " Aftson metamorphofed into a 

 Stag," in folio ; " The Body of Chrift, taken from the Crofs 

 by St. John and Jofeph of Arimathea," a very large plate ; 

 and " The Allegory of Virgil," from Jooft van Vondel, in 

 quarto. 



Adrian Matham was alfo of Haerlem, related to Theo- 

 dore and James, and born fome time about the beginning 

 of the feventeenth century, but he was, on the whole, in- 

 ferior to thofe artifts in merit. He worked with the graver 

 only, imitating the elder de Ghein, but was always behind 

 him, nor can it be necelFary to dwell on his demerits. 



He engraved part of the plates for the large folio volume, 

 which was publifhed at Antwerp in 1628, and entitled 

 " Academic del'Efpee;" "The Golden Age," from Golt- 

 zius, in large folio ; '■' An old Man prefenting his Purfe to 

 a young Female," (a large upright) from the fame mafter ; 

 ♦' A Group of itinerant Muficians," after A. Vander Vcnne, 

 in folio ; '■ A Combat between fix grotefque figures, with 

 culinary Implements," from the fame painter : his other 

 works are lefs worthy of notice. 



He alfo engraved portraits, among the beft of which are 

 thofe of Pieter Bor Chriftiaenfz, a Dutch hiftorian, after 

 Frank Hals ; and D. Sibrandus Sixtius Oiftervirius, after 

 N. Moyart, both in foho. 



Herman Muller was a native of Holland, but we know 

 not the precife time or place of his birth. If he frequented 

 the fchool of Henry Goltzius, which appears very doubt- 

 ful, though it is afierted by Strutt, it muft have been be- 

 fore the peculiar ftyle of that artift was formed, and con- 

 fequently before his migration to Italy. He worked in 

 conjundion with Cornelius Cort, in the earher part of the 

 career of that artift, for Jerome Cock. The fole inftru- 

 ment of his art was the graver, which he handled with 

 tolerable precifion, but not much freedom ; and iu his beft 

 works his drawmg is performed with care. In his later 

 works, he aimed at the bold and free ftyle of Goltzius, 

 which had by this time excited the furprife of moft of his 

 contemporaries and the admiration of fome, but in this en- 

 deavour our artift was not very fuccefsful. 



His engravings are numerous and not uncommon ; they 

 are marked with one or other of the three monograms, Sor 

 which fee our Plate II. of thofe ufed by the engravers of 

 the Netherlands. Among them may be diftinguiftied '• The 

 three Deftinies," and "> Cleopatra," after Cornelius de 

 Harlem; " Lucretia," after C. Kettel, (an upright) 

 " St. Cecilia," in which plate it may be feen he has at- 

 tempted to embolden his ftyle. A fet of four of " The Car- 

 dinal Virtues," after Martin Hemil^erk ; another fet of 

 *' The fix Commandments of God," illuftrated by fubjedls 

 from bible hiftory, from the defigns of thfe fame painter, 

 and fome other bible fubjedts which range in fets, with cer- 

 tain works from the gravers of the Sadelers and Galles, 

 from J. Stradan and M. de Vos, of various foho dimenfions. 

 Vol. XXI. 



John Muller, of the fame family, was an artift of more 

 vigorous powers. He was born in the year IJ70, as is 

 fuppofed at Amfterdam, but how he ftood related to Her- 

 man is not known. His vigour, however, as an artift, was 

 not wifely employed, like that of an Hercules ; but rather 

 extravagantly la>Tiftied ; he fwaggered like a giant of ro- 

 mance. Studying under Henry Goltzius at his worft 

 period, hs learned to exceed even his exceftes. He caught 

 the enthufiafm of that great artift, but fell fiiort of him in 

 judgment and variety. " The modefty of Nature," was 

 with Muller as with Spranger, entirely out of the queftion, 

 and the more he could " Out-herod Herod" in his manual 

 execution and ftyle of defign, (efpecially when engraving 

 after Bartholomew Spranger,) the better he appears to have 

 pleafed himfelf. 



Hence fome of his extravagancies are fcarcely lefs ludi- 

 crous than others are ferioufly furprifing. Watelet fays of 

 him, that " he handled the graver with the greateft freedom, 

 and will ever be worthy of the attention of thofe artifts 

 who wifti to diflinguifti themfelves in the mechanical part of 

 engraving ; but they muft learn to fubdue the audacity of 

 his ftyle. It is very difficult to employ lefs work thaa 

 Muller, in rendering the textures of objefts, 2nd he always 

 worked his plates up to a good tone. He underftood the 

 human figure vi'ell, but from engraving much after Adrian 

 van Vries and Bartholomew Spranger, acquired a mannered 

 habit of drawing, which particularly difcovered itfelf in his 

 hands and feet." 



To this eftimate of his merits, Strutt adds, " the faci- 

 lity with which he handled the graver, for he worked with"" 

 that inftrument only, cannot be fufliciently expreGTed ; his 

 works mull be feen to convey a proper idea of it to the 

 mind, yet if in freedom of execution he equalled his mafter, 

 in every other requifite he fell far ftxort of him," &c. 



That Solomon Muller was of the fame family with Her- 

 man and John, as Strutt has conjeftured, appears very 

 doubtful, if not altogether an error. He fometimes wrote 

 his name Miller, and is fo utterly deftitute of the talent and 

 enthufiafm of the MuUers, that he appears, from his fmall 

 Bible prints, which v.-ere produced about the period now 

 under our review, rather to have copied the worft of the 

 Wierixes, with equal neatnefs, but with deeper dulnefs. 



Of the engravings of John Muller, the moft diftinguiflied 

 are the 



Portraits of Bartholomew Spranger, a kindred fpirit, 

 whom Muller terms, in the infcription beneath, " M. Piclor 

 ceieberrimus," it is dated in 1597, is in folio, and after Joab 

 ab Ach ; Everhardus Reidanus, eomitis Guilhelmi Naf- 

 favoy Confiliarius ; Maurice, prince of Orange ; John 

 Neyen, of Antwerp, laying his hand on a fltuU ; Arabrofe 

 Spinola, the celebrated general, in large folio, both from 

 Mirevelt ; Chriftian IV., king of Denmark, from Ifacks ; 

 Albert, archduke of Auftria, from Rubens, a.id its com- 

 panion, Ifabella, infanta of Spain, from the lame painter, 

 in large folio. 



Subjecfs from his own Compofitions. — " The Baptifm of 

 Chrift, celebrated, in Heaven," in folio ; " An Ecce 

 Homo," furrounded by angels, a circular plate, in large 

 folio ; " Balthafar's Foaft," and " The Adoration of the 

 Kings," two very capital plates, in large folio, very much 

 fought after by connoiffeurs ; " Chilo, the Spartan Philo- 

 fopher," and " Harpocrates, the God of Silence;" two 

 heads as large as hfe, engraved in a very bold, vigorous 

 ftyle. 



' Subjects from various Mafias. — " H agar in the Defart, 



comforted by an Angel," in quarto ; " Lot and his Daugh- 



3 O ters," 



