LOW COUNTRIES, ENGRAVERS OF THE. 



" Meleager prerenting the Boar's Head to Atalanta," from 

 ■Rubens, in folio. 



Cornelius Mcyflens was the fon of John, and born at 

 Antwerp, A. D. 1646. He learned the elements of art 

 under his paternal roof, but removed from thence to Vi- 

 enna, where he remained fome years. Fie fecnis chiefly to 

 have been employed by his father in engraving portraits, 

 which he executed entirely with the graver in a ItilF, lallelefs 

 ftyle. His bell prints have no great merit to recommend 

 them, and the red are mere flovenly performances, evidently 

 executed in a hurry. The moll co.ifiderable work we have 

 by this artid is a fet of portraits of the emperors of the houfe 

 of Aullria, in folio, entitled " EtTigies Imperatorum domus 

 Aullriaca:, delineatx per Joannen MeylTens, et acri in- 

 fculpts per Filium fuum, Cornehum Meyifcns." This 

 proves, beyond contradiftion, that he was the fon of John, 

 and not the nephew, as BaiTan affirms. His work of next 

 importance is in folio, and entitled, " Les Effigies des Sou- 

 verains Princes et Dues de Brabant." In thefe he was 

 ainiled by Peter de Jode, Wanmans, Van Schupcn, and 

 other artills. OcVavius, duke of AreaBurgli ; >:\ntonius 

 Barberinus, Cardinalis Camcrius, both in 410 ; Rinaldo 

 Principe Ellenfe, cardina'e protettore della Corona di 

 Francia, in folio ; Giovanni de Witt, Signor di Linfchoten, 

 &c. Penfionario di Olandia ; Cafparus Keidtwerdius, Pallor 

 Ecclefiac Vcfala, from B. D. Meyes ; and David Conte di 

 WeidenwoliT, Signor di fon et Enfegg ; S. B. Van Dry- 

 •vveghen delt. all of folio dimenfions, may alfo be admitted 

 into coUeAions of the fchool of the Netherlands. 



Marc de Bye was born at the Hague in 1612, of a noble 

 family ; he palTed fome of the years of his youth in the 

 army of the Dutch repubhc, and became a member of the 

 Academy of Arts in 1664. 



He learned the principles of painting of James vander 

 Does, painted animals with all the truth and tafte of that 

 mafter, and etched feveral fets of plates, of which the fub- 

 jefts were wild and domeftic animals, in a very neat fpiritcd 

 ilyle, after Paul Potter and Marc Gerard. 



The followmg may be felctled with advantage from the 

 refi. of his works : Two fets of eight quarto plates, each of 

 horned cattle, after P. Potter ; another fet in quarto, from 

 the lame painter ; a fet of eight, of goats and (heep ; a 

 fet of fixteen, of goats; a fet of fixteen, of lions, bears, 

 wolves, leopards, &c. after the fame painter ; and a fet of 

 lixteen, of " The Natural Hillory of the Bear," in dif- 

 ferent countries, after Marc Gerard, very rare prints, in 

 quarto. 



Francis vanden Wyngaerde was born at Antwerp in the 

 vear 1612, a:id eftabhihed himfelf in that city as an en;jraver 

 and print-merchant. His works prove him to have been a 

 man of ability ; his etchings are executed in a flight and 

 free, but mailerly Ityle, and are much fought after by con- 

 noifleurs. Among thofe which are the moll worthy of at- 

 tention, are the following : 



'•■ Sampfon kilhng the Lion," from Rubens, in 410. ; 

 *' Jefus Chrift appearing to Mary Magdalen in the Garden," 

 in folio ; " The Marriage of Thetis and Peleus," in large 

 folio ; a bacchanalian fubicft, where Bacchus is reprefented 

 drinking from a cup, into which a bacchanal is fqiieeziiig 

 grapes, a fine and rare print, in large folio ; " Soldiers re- 

 gahng in an Alehoufe ;" all after Rubens. " The Entomb- 

 ing of Chrift," after A. Vandyke, both in folio ; " Achilles 

 dilcovered at the Court of Lycomedes," after the fame 

 painter, in folio ; " The Return from Egypt," in which 

 the Holy Virgin appears in a ftraw hat, from J. Thomas, a 

 iine engraving, in large foho ; " Peafants fmoking and 

 tkinking before an Aiehoiife Door," from 'I'eniers ; " The 



Temptation of St. Anthony," from his own compofition, a 

 very rare print ; two women, one of whom is contemplating 

 a flccping infant by candlelight, after Callot ; and its com- 

 panion, a female leaning on a fliull before a looking-glafs, 

 after the fame mafter, all of folio dimenfions. 



Reynier, or Remigius Nooms, better known by his cog- 

 nomen Zeeman, was br.rn at Amilcrdam in the year 1612. 

 He was originally a failor, but having an innate love and 

 natural talent for fine art, he accuftomed himfelf to imitate 

 on paper what he law, and by purfuing this mode of ftudy 

 in the fchool of nature alone, gradually became a marine . 

 painter and engraver of confiderable rank and abihty. 



It flioidd be known that the Dutch word zeeman is fyno- 

 nimous wi'h feaman, or mariner, As the imitative powers 

 of l/je failor difclofed thenifelves, his countrymen could not 

 but heboid his productions with fome degree of pleafing 

 wonder, nor was due encouragement withheld. At one 

 period of his life he accepted an invitation to Berlin, and" 

 if we may judge from twelve of his engravings of flilpping, 

 &c. which were publilhed here by Tooktr, he refided for 

 a time in London, but finally returned to Amfterdam, where 

 he executed a confiderable number of plates from his own 

 defigns, in a bold and intelligent fi.yle. They confift of 

 fhipping and marine views, ornamented with good figures, 

 and clofed by back-grounds, wliich are often beautifully ex- 

 ec\ited and appropriately introduced. 



Of thefe, the moft important are, a fet of eight naval 

 fubjefts, entitled " Qu -Iques Navires," &c. dated 1632, in 

 4to. ; another fet of fix, of views of public edifices on the 

 fi;a-fliore, and the yatcli which travels between Haerlem and 

 Amfterdam, in folio j a fe: of twelve, of ihipping, naval 

 arfenals, &c. in folio, publiflied in London by A. Tooker ; 

 four Dutch fea-ports, in folio, entitled " Raan Poortie ;" 

 " St. Antoni's Poort ;" " Regihi-rs Poort ;" " Saaghmeu- 

 lins Poortie ;" dated 1636. Another fet of four, of Dutch 

 fea-ports, alio in folio ; " The I'our Elements," in 8vo. ; 

 a pair of " The Fanxbourg of St. Marcian ;" and " The 

 Porch of St. Bernard," at Paris ; a fea-fight with fliips on 

 fire, and another marine fubjefl, with two fliips engaging, all 

 of foho dimenfions, and from compofitions by the engraver 

 himfeif. 



Henry Snayers, or Sneyos, was born at Antwerp in tlie 

 year 16 1 2, and always refided in his native city. Of whom 

 he learned engraving is uncertain, btit he evidenily imitated 

 the llyles of P. Pontius and the Bolfwerts. His prints, as 

 is believed, are the lole pruduftion of the graving tool ; he 

 drew correttly, and much of the charafter, exprcflion, and 

 fpirit of the original pictures after which he worked, are 

 infufed into his tranflations. 



When engraving after Rubens, his prints, of which the 

 following are the bell, bear ftrong refemblunce to thole of 

 Scheltius a Bolfwert. 



The portraits of Adam Van Oort, after Jordaens, and 

 prince Robert, count palatine of the Rhine, after Vandyke j 

 " The Holy Virgin and Infant Saviour appearing to St." 

 Alanus of Rupe, " a rare print, in large folio, and pre- 

 fumptively after a compofition by Snayers himfelf ; " The 

 Holy Virgin feated and furrounded by Saints," in large 

 fulio ; " The Fathers of the Church dt bating the Queftion 

 of Tranfubltantia'.ion," of very large folio dimenfions ; " St. 

 Francis d'Affife receiving tiie Sacrament of Extreme Uiic- 

 tion," all after Rubenv ; and " Sampion de.ivered to the 

 Philiflines," after Vandyke, alfc in large folio. 



Alexander Voet, or Voert, the young'r, was a native of 

 Antwerp, and born in the year 1613. Ht was probably 

 the difciple of Paul Pontius, ,. hof- fty.e he triquentiy imi- 

 tated, but not with any very gre.1l luccels. There is a want 



' cf 



