Peter Oliver (1594 – December 1648) 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 ...
miniaturist
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 ...
.
Born in
Isleworth
Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, he was the eldest son of
Isaac Oliver
Isaac Oliver (c. 1565 – bur. 2 October 1617) or Olivier was an English portrait miniature 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, ...
, a French-born English portrait miniature painter, probably by his first wife. When he died, Isaac Oliver left his finished and unfinished drawings for Peter, with the hope that he would live to exercise the art of his father. Isaac's other sons appear to have been under-age at the time of his death, and were probably therefore by a later wife than Peter's mother. Peter Oliver resided at
Isleworth
Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...
, and was buried beside his father at St Annes,
Blackfriars Blackfriars, derived from Black Friars, a common name for the Dominican Order of friars, may refer to:
England
* Blackfriars, Bristol, a former priory in Bristol
* Blackfriars, Canterbury, a former monastery in Kent
* Blackfriars, Gloucester, a f ...
.
He was even more eminent in miniature painting than his father, and is specially remarkable for a series of copies in
watercolor
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
he made after celebrated pictures by old masters. Most of these were done by the desire of the king, and seven of them still remain at
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 ...
. A great many of Oliver's works were purchased by
Charles II from his widow; several of his drawings are in existence, and a leaf from his pocket-book in the collection of the
earl of Derby
Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end ...
. His most important work is the group of the three grandsons of
Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montague
Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu, KB, PC (29 November 1528 – 19 October 1592) was an English peer during the Tudor period.
Biography
Anthony Browne was the eldest of the six sons of Sir Anthony Browne by his first wife, Alice Gage (d. ...
with their servant, now belonging to the
marquess of Exeter
Marquess of Exeter is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1525 for Henry Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon. For more ...
; and there are fine miniatures by him at
Welbeck Abbey
Welbeck Abbey in the Dukeries in North Nottinghamshire was the site of a monastery belonging to the Premonstratensian order in England and after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a country house residence of the Dukes of Portland. It is one ...
,
Montagu House,
Sherborne Castle
Sherborne Castle is a 16th-century Tudor mansion southeast of Sherborne in Dorset, England, within the parish of Castleton. It stands in a park which formed a small part of the Digby estate.
Old castle
Sherborne Old Castle () is the ruin ...
,
Minley Manor
Minley Manor is a Grade II* listed country manor house, located within a Grade II registered garden, built in the French Gothic style by Henry Clutton in the 1860s with further additions in the 1880s. The Manor is situated 2 miles north of juncti ...
,
Belvoir Castle
Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. The Castle was first built immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 an ...
and in the private collection of
Queen Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World Wa ...
.
Notes
References
*
External links
*
Miniatures by Peter Oliver(National Portrait Gallery, London)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Peter
1594 births
1648 deaths
17th-century English painters
English male painters
English watercolourists
Portrait miniaturists