Aertgen

, or Aartgen, a painter of merit, was the son of a wool-comber, and born at Leyden in 1498. He worked at his father’s trade till he was eighteen, and then, having discovered a genius for designing, he was placed with Cornelius Engelhechtz, under whom he made a | considerable progress in painting. He became so distinguished, that the celebrated Francis Floris went to Leyden, out of mere curiosity, to see him, and being. directed to a very mean apartment, when Aertgen was absent, he drew a St. Luke on the wall; which Aertgen had no sooner seen, than he exclaimed, that Floris only could have done it, and went immediately in search of him. Floris solicited him to go to Antwerp, promising him wealth and rank suitable to his merit; but Aertgen refused, declaring that he found more sweets in his poverty than others did in their riches. It was a custom with this painter never to work on Mondays, but to devote that day with his disciples to the bottle. He used to stroll about the streets in the night, playing on the German flute; and in one of those frolics he was drowned, in 1564. ¹