Isaac Oliver - Young Man Seated under a Tree - Google Art Project

Isaac Oliver (c. 1565 – bur. 2 October 1617) or Olivier was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

portrait miniature A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...

painter.Baskett, John. ''Paul Mellon's legacy: a passion for British art'' (Yale University Press, 2007) pp. 240-1.

Life and work

Born in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

, he moved to London in 1568 with his

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

parents Peter and Epiphany Oliver to escape the

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

in France. He then studied

miniature painting Miniature painting may refer to: * Miniature (illuminated manuscript), a small illustration used to decorate an illuminated manuscript * Persian miniature, a small painting on paper in the Persian tradition, for a book or album * Ottoman miniature, ...

under

Nicholas Hilliard Nicholas Hilliard () was an English goldsmith and limner best known for his portrait miniatures of members of the courts of Elizabeth I and James I of England. He mostly painted small oval miniatures, but also some larger cabinet miniatures, ...

; and developed a naturalistic style, which was largely influenced by Italian and

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

art. His first wife, Elizabeth, died in 1599. With her he fathered Peter Oliver, who was also eminent in miniature painting. In 1602, he married Sara, daughter of the well-known portrait painter

Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder, Marc Gerard and Marcus Garret (c. 1520 – c. 1590) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, print designer and etcher who was active in his native Flanders and in England. He practised in many genres, including portrait ...

(c. 1520 – c. 1590) and his wife Susannah de Critz. Susannah was the daughter of Troilus de Critz, a

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), pl ...

from

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, and close relative of

John de Critz John de Critz or John Decritz (1551/2 – 14 March 1642 (buried)) was one of a number of painters of Flemish origin active at the English royal court during the reigns of James I of England and Charles I of England. He held the post of Serjean ...

, the Queen's

Serjeant-Painter The Serjeant Painter was an honourable and lucrative position as court painter with the English monarch. It carried with it the prerogative of painting and gilding all of the King's residences, coaches, banners, etc. and it grossed over £1,000 ...

. She was also the eldest sister or cousin of Magdalen de Critz, who married

Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger Marcus Gheeraerts (also written as Gerards or Geerards; 1561/62 – 19 January 1636) was a Flemish artist working at the Tudor court, described as "the most important artist of quality to work in England in large-scale between Eworth and van ...

(1562–1635). After the death of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

, he became a painter of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

's court, painting numerous portraits of the queen

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

and

Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (19 February 1594 – 6 November 1612), was the eldest son and heir apparent of James VI and I, King of England and Scotland; and his wife Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuar ...

. Some of his work is housed in

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

. Some of his pen drawings are located in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

Gallery

Portrait miniatures

File:Portrait of a Young Gentleman (Sir Philip Sydney) by Isaac Oliver.jpg, Portrait of a Young Gentleman (possibly Sir Philip Sydney), 1605 File:Isaac Oliver unknown woman in masque costume 1609.jpg, Unknown Woman in Masque Costume, 1609 File:Philip_Herbert,_Fourth_Earl_of_Pembroke_(Oliver,_1611).jpg, Philip Herbert, Fourth Earl of Pembroke, 1611 File:Charles, Prince of Wales (later Charles I) by Isaac Oliver.jpg,

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

as Prince of Wales, 1615

Larger works

File:Edward Herbert 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury by Isaac Oliver.jpg,

Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury (or Chirbury) KB (3 March 1583 – 5 August 1648) was an English soldier, diplomat, historian, poet and religious philosopher of the Kingdom of England. Life Early life Edward Herbert was the ...

File:Oliver Richard Sackville Earl of Dorset 1616.jpg,

Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset (18 March 1589 – 28 March 1624) was the eldest surviving son of Robert Sackville, 2nd Earl of Dorset, by his first wife, Margaret, a daughter of the Duke of Norfolk. Born at Charterhouse, London, Sackville ...

, cabinet miniature, 1616 File:Isaac Oliver Elizabeth I and the Three Goddesses.jpg, Elizabeth I and the three Goddesses

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Roma ...

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

References

External links