Nicholas Hilliard
Nicholas Hilliard was born in Exeter in 1547. His father Richard Hilliard served as Sheriff of Exeter and worked as a goldsmith. The family fled to Geneva on the 8th of May 1557 when Mary I became Queen. Ten-year-old Nicholas attended a Calvinist service there alongside eleven other members of the Bodley household. John Knox presided over that gathering while the boy learned fluent French abroad. He painted a self-portrait at age thirteen in 1560. This early work shows a young artist already confident with his tools.
Hilliard apprenticed himself to Robert Brandon who died in 1591. Brandon held the title of Queen's jeweller and served as city chamberlain of London. Sir Roy Strong suggests Hilliard may have also studied limning under Levina Teerlinc during this period. She was the daughter of Simon Bening and court painter to Henry VIII after Holbein's death. After seven years he became a freeman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in 1569. He set up a workshop with his younger brother John. On the 15th of July 1576 he married Brandon's daughter Alice at St Vedast church in Foster Lane. They had seven children together including Daniel born in 1578 and Laurence born in 1582.
Money remained a persistent problem for Hilliard throughout his career. A typical miniature sold for three pounds which compared well with prices charged by Cornelis Ketel in the 1570s. Around 1574 he invested in a gold mine in Scotland with Cornelius de Vos and lost money. He remembered that loss bitterly twenty-five years later. In 1576 the recently married artist left for France to increase his knowledge. He stayed until 1578 or 1579 mixing in artistic circles around the court. He received a stipend of two hundred livres from François Duke of Anjou in 1577. Francis Bacon attached himself to the embassy where Hilliard painted a miniature of him.
After returning from France Hilliard lived and worked in Gutter Lane off Cheapside from 1579 to 1613. His son Laurence took over the shop carrying on business for many decades. Hilliard moved to an unknown address in St Martin-in-the-Fields parish near the Court. Apart from Laurence who continued in a feeble version of his father's style his pupils included Isaac Oliver. Oliver was appointed Limner to Queen Anne of Denmark in 1604. He developed a more modern style than his master though he could not match Hilliard in freshness. Hilliard produced spectacular picture boxes like the Lyte Jewel given by James I to Thomas Lyte in 1610. The Armada Jewel and Drake Jewel remain the best known examples of these jewelled lockets.
Hilliard authored an important treatise now called The Art of Limning preserved in the Bodleian Library. Recent scholarship establishes this work as his own rather than John de Critz's. He cautioned against all but minimal use of chiaroscuro modelling reflecting Elizabeth's views. She chose her place to sit in open light where no tree cast a shadow. His normal technique involved painting the whole face in the presence of the sitter. He kept prepared flesh-coloured blanks ready in different shades to save time. He painted outlines very faintly with a pencil which was actually a fine pointed squirrel-hair brush. He added thick dots of paint to give three-dimensionality to pearls and lace.
Hilliard died before the 7th of January 1619 and was buried in St Martin-in-the-Fields church. His will made on Christmas Eve 1618 left twenty shillings to the poor of the parish. By far the largest collection of his work resides in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The National Portrait Gallery and British Museum hold several others too. Conditions ensure many miniatures remain in excellent condition though fading pigments are common. Twenty-first century research at Waddesdon Manor has transformed understanding of his work. Two large-scale paintings attributed to him were newly discovered there. These portraits of Sir Amias Paulet and Elizabeth are painted on French oak panels not Baltic oak commonly used in England.
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Common questions
When and where was Nicholas Hilliard born?
Nicholas Hilliard was born in Exeter in 1547. His father Richard Hilliard served as Sheriff of Exeter and worked as a goldsmith.
Who did Nicholas Hilliard apprentice under after leaving Geneva?
Hilliard apprenticed himself to Robert Brandon who died in 1591. Brandon held the title of Queen's jeweller and served as city chamberlain of London.
What happened to Nicholas Hilliard during his time in France between 1576 and 1578?
He received a stipend of two hundred livres from François Duke of Anjou in 1577 while Francis Bacon attached himself to the embassy where Hilliard painted a miniature of him.
Where did Nicholas Hilliard live and work from 1579 until 1613?
After returning from France Hilliard lived and worked in Gutter Lane off Cheapside from 1579 to 1613. He later moved to an unknown address in St Martin-in-the-Fields parish near the Court.
How many children did Nicholas Hilliard have with his wife Alice?
They had seven children together including Daniel born in 1578 and Laurence born in 1582.
When did Nicholas Hilliard die and what is known about his burial place?
Hilliard died before the 7th of January 1619 and was buried in St Martin-in-the-Fields church. His will made on Christmas Eve 1618 left twenty shillings to the poor of the parish.