LOW COUNTRIES, ENGRAVERS OF THE. 



•entrravers. Frederic was born at Antwerp A.D. 1650, 

 and liad twenty-fonr children, of wliom twelve were edu- 

 cated to different branches of fine art. Frederic publiflied 

 the works cf other engravers as well as his own, and 

 •mav del'erve more credit in the annals of commerce (if fuch 

 there be) than can be allowed him in thofe of art. He 

 .worked with the graver only, in a neat but dry ftyle ; his 

 works arc numerous, and confilt chiefly of portraits, but 

 their merits are fmall. From among them the following 

 may be felecled with advantage. 



The /Porl raits of J. Baptitl van Heil, a portrait-painter 

 of Bruffels ; Daniel van Heil, a landfcape-painter ; and Leo 

 A'an Heil, an architeft, from piftures by J. Baptitl van 

 Heil; David Ryckaert, from a pidlure by himfelf; Charles 

 Emanuel, duke of Savoy ; Charles Gafpar, elcilor of 

 Treves ; Chnltina, queen of Sweden ; Oliver Cromwell ; 

 Frederic-William, elector of Brandenburg; John George, 

 tledlor of Saxony, all in quarto. 



Of his Hijlorical engravings — " The Holy Virgin, with 

 .St. John and the Infant Saviour;" apd " A Card Party," 

 from a delign by himfelf, are alone worthy of notice. 



Gafper Buuttats was a younger brother of Frederic, 

 ■who worked chiefly for the Dutch bookfeilers. His prints 

 .confift chiefly of etching, which he performed without 

 tade, in a tame and rapid llyle. 



Befide his book-plates, which we fliall not ciuimerate, he 

 engraved a few of larger dimenfions, among which are, 

 «' The Mafl'acre of the Huguenots ;" " The Affaffination of 

 Henry IV. of France ;" and " The Decollation of the 

 .Counts Nadafti and Cerini, and the Marquis Franciflani," 

 all of large folio fi/.e, wliich, as they are without painters* 

 jiames, are perhaps defigned by himfelf ; and " A Provifion 

 Tent," after Wouvermans, alfo in folio. 



Gerard Bouttats was of the fame family, and was born 

 A.D. 1634, at Antwerp. He travelled during his youth 

 to Vienna, where he became engraver to the univerfity. 

 His works rife not above mediocrity, and conCft principally 

 x>f portraits from his own drawings : among them are 

 Adanius Mund.s ; Antonio d'Aument ; Charles Jofeph, 

 archduke of Aullria; and Don Peter, king of Portugal, 

 all of quarto fize. 



His beft Hijhvical prints are, " The Name of Jefus ;" 

 and " The Refurreclion of our Saviour," both in quarto. 



Philibert Bouttats was likewife a native of Antwerp, and 

 one of the fons of Frederic. His engravings are inoftly 

 portraits, but are deflitute of merit. Among them is pope 

 Innocent XI. in large folio ; the dauphin, fon of Louis 

 XIV. ; and its companion, Mary-Ann Viftoria of Ba- 

 varia, both in folio ovals ; Elizabeth Charlotte, ducliefs 

 of Orleans ; William-Henry, prince of Orange ; Chrif- 

 tian V. king of Denmark ; Herman Werner, bifliop of 

 Paderborn, in a circle; Alexander Sidney, ambaflador ; 

 John Sobicfl<i, king of Poland, all in folio ; and a Thifis, 

 with the portrait of the birtiop of Munfter, in large folio. 

 We pafs over Peter Balhafar, and the remainder of this 

 family, as too inconhderable to be worthy of the reader's 

 attention. 



Adrian Lomelin was born at Amiens in the year 1636. 

 He lludied the art of engraving at Antwerp, and always 

 refided there. He worked with the graver only, and handled 

 it very indifl^erently, but, unfirtunately, feveral of the ca- 

 pital pidures of Rubens f-ll into the hands of this engraver, 

 and his works are liere fpccified chiefly on account of the 

 merits of the originals. 



However, tome of his portraits after Vandyke are not 

 wholly deititute of merit, and from thefe the following may, 

 nitL advantage, be felefted. 



•Charles I. king of England ; Ferdinand of Auftria, go. 

 vernor of the Low Countries ; Jacob le Roi, lord of Her. 

 baix ; John Charles de la Faille, a Jefuit of Antwerp ; 

 Alexander de la Faille, an Antwerp fenator ; Zegher van 

 Houtfum, of Antwerp ; Adrian Stevens, an ecclefiaftic ; 

 John Malderus, bifliop of Antwerp ; John de Wael ; and 

 John Baptifta de Bilthoven, an Antwerp Jefuit. This lad 

 is reckoned the very beft of the portraits of Lomelin : all 

 are after Vandyke, and of folio dimenfions. 



HsJhncaU &f. — " Abigail apjieafing David ;"-" The 

 Adorariiin of the Eaftern Kings;" " The Cirtumcilion ;" 

 " The Baptifm of Chrift ;" ''Mary wafliing the Feet of 

 Clirill ;" " Chrifl; appearing to Mary Magdalen ;" " The 

 Trinity ;" " The Triumph of Charity ;" " Time unveil- 

 ing Truth and conquering Herefy ;" " The Affumption ;" 

 " The Virgin and Infant Saviour," attended by St. Do- 

 minic, and various otliers, all of large folio fize; "St. 

 Cecilia," in folio ; " The Judgment of Paris," in lar^e 

 folio, all after Rubens; " Chrill taken in the Garden," 

 from Vandyke ; and " The Holy Virjjin," with the youth- 

 ful Saviour prefeiiting a crown to four fathers of the church, 

 in folio, after Diepenbeck. 



Nicholas Pitau, or Pitliau, was born at Antwerp in the 

 year 1633. He was the fon and pupil of James Pitau. 

 He travelled to Paris A.D. 1660. Baffan erroneoufly in- 

 forms us that he was born in 1664 at Antwerp ; and Wa- 

 telet fays at Paris in 1633 ; Huber and Martini correft thefe 

 millakes, and from other authorities it appears certain that 

 he was at Paris the time we have mentioned above, and 

 died there fome time about the year 1676. His flyle of 

 engraving nearly refembles that of Francis de Poilly, though 

 his Itrokes are more vigorous. His drawing is in general 

 tolerably corrcft, but, at times, is rather heavy, efpecially 

 ill the extremities of his figures. He worked with the 

 graver only, and appears to have handled that inftrument 

 with much facility ; but from the famenefs of manner with 

 wliich he has treated his figures, draperies, and back-grounds, 

 the effect ®f his prints is cold and filvery. Watelet, who 

 generally writes with more tafte and feeling than almoft any 

 other of the foreign critics on engraving, praifes him fome- 

 what too high'y, when he afferts that " Pitau's engraving 

 of the Holy Family, after Raphael, is a chef-d'oeuvre, both 

 for the beauty of the execution, the purity of the drawing, 

 and the ftrength and juftnefs of the effett. The character 

 of Raphael has, perhaps, never been fo faithfully tranflated 

 as in this print, which, by amateurs, has been preferred to 

 the famous engraving of the Saint, by Edelinck," which 

 is .after tl'.e fame celebrated mafter. 



This artill engraved both portraits and hiftorical fubjefts, 

 and the following are feleflcd from his bell. 



Portraits. — St. Francis of Sales, bifhop and prince of 

 Geneva ; Louis Henry, duke of Bourbon ; Oliver Crom- 

 well, after Vander Werf, all in folio ; Alexander VII., after 

 P. Mignard, in large folio ; Vincent de Paule, founder of 

 the congregation of the Miffion of St. Lazarus, after Sim. 

 Fran(^ois, in folio ; James Fabier du Bulay, mafter of the 

 court of Requcfts ; and Henry Louis Hubert de Mont- 

 mort, of the French Academy, both in ovals of folio fize ; 

 Theodore Bignou, mafter of the court of Req'uefts, all after 

 Ph. de Champagne ; Peter Seguier, chancellor of France, 

 from N. de Platte Montagne, in large folio ; Prioh, author 

 of the F.-cnch Hillory ; Alexander Paul Pitau, counfeilor, 

 both in folio ; Gafper de Fieubet, chancellor ; Nicholas 

 Colbert, in large folio, all after C. le Febure ; Louis XIV. 

 of France and Navarre ; the dauphin, fon of Louis X1V« 

 both from le Febure ; and an anonymous portrait of a man, 

 lialf-lengthj after John Daret, all of large fiolio fize. 



4 Hijlorical^ 



