LOW COUNTRIES, ENGRAVERS OF THE. 



modeft merit would retire in fiJence, and either change his 

 pro*" ffion, or, if he were unable to do this, would look 

 round for refuge wliere he might. 



Several of thofe of the Low Countries, who lived at this 

 period, fought an afylum in England. Bouyed up by hope, 

 perhaps attrafted by falfo reprefentations of our national 

 tafte or profperily,they failed hither over a feaof Difappoint- 

 ment. They imagined an Hefperian garden, and found a 

 fterile wafle. They cfcaped from the rapacity of one fet 

 of dealer', to drudge under tafl<-mallers that were more 

 taltelefs, and probably not lefs inexorable ; and that fine 

 ethereal mental cflenee, which is the fpirit of art, was eva- 

 porated, partly by the ardours of trade, and partly by the 

 agitations of political revolution. 



We, therefi-re, fhall pafs flightly over the dregs of Dutch 

 engraving, with fomc regret on account of the nature of 

 chronologic annals, and referve the remains of our parti- 

 cular attention for Houbraken, /^ udenaerd, Pmit, and a 

 few other artifts of deferved celebrity, with which mud be 

 clofed our account of the icliool of the Low Countries. 



Conrad Waumanj was born al Antwerp in the year 1 630, 

 and becamv the dil'ciple of Peter Bailliu. He unfortunately 

 imitated his mailer, when much better models might have 

 been found, and his drawing is not lefs incorrett, and his 

 (Jyle of handling his graver fcarcely a whit more principled. 

 Yet he is the engraver of a confiderable number of plates, 

 which collettors have thought worthy of fome attention. 

 The chief of thefe are the 



Portraits of John Both, (the landfcape painter and en- 

 graver,) after Willars ; Herman Saftleeven ; David Bailie 

 of Leyden, and Cornelius Janfen, both from piftures by 

 that diftinguilhed artill, and all of 410. dimenfions. Li 

 folio he engraved the marquis of Mirabelle ; Emily, prin- 

 cefs of Orange ; Frederic Henry, prince of Orange, clad 

 in armour; and Maria Clara, princefs de Croye; all after 

 Vandyke. 



Hijlorical, &c — " The Defcent from the Crofs,'' in large 

 folio ; " The AfFumption of the Virgin," in 4ta. ; " The 

 Holy Virgin and Infant Saviour," in folio; " The Holy 

 Family with the abbe Alexander Scaglia receiving the Bene- 

 diction of St. John ;" and " Venus and Mars," in large 

 folio ; all after Rubens. 



The family of Danckert, or Dankerts of Antwerp, though 

 they mamtained their ftation as dealers in that commercial 

 city for upwards of a century, were as artifts, and fpeak- 

 ing of them in the aggregate, fcarcely of fuperior preten- 

 fions to thofe of Waumans. 



Cornelius was born at Amrterdam in the year 1561, and 

 eftablifhed himfelf as a printfeller at Antwerp fome time 

 about the middle period of his life. In his youth he pro- 

 duced a few meritorious prints, but (either by choice or 

 neceffity) his talents as an artilt were gradually abforbedby 

 the craft and folicitudes of trade. 



The Portraits of Guftavus Adolphus, king of Sweden ; 

 Jacob WafTenaer, carl of Obfdam ; Cornelius de Wit ; John 

 Cafimir, count of Nadau ; John Calvin ; and Peter Moli- 

 nsus, all of folio dimenfions, are among the bed of his 

 engravings ; to which the coUeAor may add the following 

 few Hijlorical plates. 



Equeltrian figures of " Ninus," " Cyrus," " Alex- 

 ander," and"C2:far," with emblematical accompaniments, 

 in large folio. A fet of " The Seven Planets;" another of 

 «' The Seven Wonders of the World ;" another of " The 

 Twelve Sybils," in large quarto, all from his own deCgns ; 

 and " Meleager prefenting the Boar's Head to Atalanta," 

 from Picou 



born at Antwerp fomc time about the commencement of the 

 feventeenth century. He was educated to engraving, but 

 he was educated alfo to commerce, and fucceeded his father 

 as a printfeller. 



He engraved portrait and landfcape, mingling in his 

 technical praftice the work of the etching needle with that 

 of the graver. In his ftyle of treating Tandfcapes, pafto- 

 rals, and cattle, he imitated Berghem and VifTcher, but pre- 

 fcnted us with little more than the caput mortimm of their 

 abilities. He gradually fell into a dry and heavy habit of 

 crofling his firlt courfes of lines with fquare fecond courfes, 

 and the talle and intimate knowledge of forms by which 

 thofe great mailers are dillinguiftied, were in Dankerts ut- 

 terly extindl. 



He engraved chiefly after Berghem, and his beft produc- 

 tions are "The Hartcngaft," or Stag-liunt ; " Het Vin- 

 kebaantze," or, the Bu-d Catcher, both in large folio. A 

 fet of four large landfcapcs of palloral fubjetfs, of which 

 one has the effeA of moon light. Another fet of four, with 

 cattle and figures, of fumewhat fmall dimenfions. Another 

 fet of fix, of fimilar fubjefts, and a fet of four, in folio, 

 of which the title-page bears the infcription " Danckert 

 Danckerts fee. et exc." cut on a ftone,all from the piftures 

 of Berghem. 



Of his Hijlorical prints we need only mention " The 

 Departure of Charles II. for England ;" "Venus, Cupid, 

 and Satyr," and a fountain with fifhermen. There is alfo 

 a print, which bears his name, of a curious cryllal vale, 

 which was found in the treafury at Vienna ; and his mod 

 elleemed portraits are thofe of Charles II. of England, 

 and Bernard, earl of Martenitz. 



,Iohn Danckerts was of Anilterdam, and of the fame fa- 

 mily with the preceding artift ; the year of his birth has 

 not been recorded, but foon after the middle of the feven- 

 teenth century he emigrated to England, where he en- 

 graved feveral plates after Titian and other mailers, and 

 where he is faid to have produced the defigns for the 

 Englifh tranflation of Juvenal, which were engraven by 

 Hollar. 



Juflin Danckerts was of the fame family, and was alfo a 

 printfeller of Amfterdam. He engraved the portraits of 

 William, prince of Grange, and Cafimir, king of Poland ; 

 a Venus and fleeping Cupid, and a fet of the feven gates 

 I of Antwerp ; more than which it would be needlefs to 

 fpecify of works fo utterly vvorthlefs as produtlions of art. 



Henry Danckerts was brother to John, and was likewife 

 educated an engraver, but quitted tliat profefiion to take up 

 the pallet and pencils. He excelled in painting landfcape, 

 and travelled to Italy for improvement, where he refided 

 during fome time ; from thence he came into England, and 

 was patronized by Charles II. who employed him to paint 

 views of the royal palaces, and the lea-ports of England 

 and Wales. Thefe works are dated 1678 and 1679. At 

 the difcovery of the Popilh plot, being a Roman Catholic, 

 and probably a fuipefted charadler, he returned to Amfter- 

 dam, where he foon afterwards died. 



The following are the moll important of his engravings : 

 Portraits of king Charles II. ; Ewald Screvelius ; and 

 Chriftian Rompf, (both phyficians to the prince ol Orange,) 

 in large folio ; a fet of the fea-ports and palaces of Eng- 

 land, and a large view, engraved on three plates, of the Y 

 at Amllerdam. 



Simon Vlieger was born at Amfterdam in the year 1612. 

 He ftudied painting under Vandcr Velde the younger, and 

 excelled in reprefenting landfcapes and fea-views. This 



ar- 

 tift likewife etched feveral paltoral fubjefts, ornamented 

 Danckert Dankerts was tb« fon of Cernelius, aad was with figures and animals, in a ftyle which combined that of 



1 1 Rembrandt 



