, one of the first English miniature painters, was born in this country
, one of the first English miniature
painters, was born in this country in 1556, and studied
under Hilliard, but received some farther instructions from
Frederick Zucchero, and became a painter of great eminence, His principal employment was in portraits, which
he painted for the most distinguished personages of his
time; but he likewise attempted historical subjects with
success. He was a good designer, and very correct; his
touch was neat and delicate; and although he generally
worked in miniature, yet he frequently painted in a large
size. His drawings are highly finished, and exceedingly
valued, many of them being copies after Parmigiano. Several very fine miniatures of this master are to be seen in
the collections of the English nobility and gentry. Dr.
Mead’s collection was very rich in them: some of them
are portraits of himself, others of queen Elizabeth, Mary
queen of Scots, prince Henry, and Ben Jonson, which
are admirably finished. There is also a whole length of
sir Philip Sidney, of great merit. These are now in the
king’s collection. At Strawberry-hill are some fine specimens, and in the closet of queen Caroline at Kensington,
there is a capital drawing of Oliver’s, of which the subject
is, the placing of Christ in the Sepulchre; and another
drawing after Raphael’s design of the Murder of the Innocents, which has a great deal of merit. He died in 1617,
aged sixty- one, and was buried in St. Anne’s, Blackfriars,
where his son erected a monument to his memory, which
was destroyed in the great fire. He wrote a treatise on
limning, partly printed in Sanderson’s “Graphice.
”