nicholas hilliard biography

[29], The esteem of his contemporaries for Hilliard is testified to by John Donne, who in a poem called The Storm (1597) praises the work of this artist. He also learned from French art, including their chalk drawings, and refers to the artist and theoretical writer Gian Paolo Lomazzo. Hilliard apprenticed himself to the Queen's jeweller Robert Brandon (d. 1591),[10] a goldsmith and city chamberlain of London, and Sir Roy Strong suggests that Hilliard may also have been trained in the art of limning by Levina Teerlinc during this period. [15], He appears in the papers of the duc d'Alençon, a suitor of Queen Elizabeth, under the name of "Nicholas Belliart, peintre anglois", in 1577, receiving a stipend of 200 livres. Design for the obverse of a Great Seal of Ireland (never made) c. 1584. The typical price for a miniature seems to have been £3 – which compares well with prices charged by Cornelis Ketel in the 1570s of £1 for a head-and-shoulders portrait and £5 for a full-length. [27], He was in high favour with James I as well as with Elizabeth, receiving from the king a special patent of appointment, dated 5 May 1617, granting him a sole licence for royal portraits in engraved form for twelve years; he had already been producing these, although probably usually using the immigrant Renold Elstrack to actually engrave the plates. "[2], Hilliard was born in Exeter in 1547. Technically he was very conservative by European standards, but his paintings are superbly executed and have a freshness and charm that has ensured his continuing reputation as "the central artistic figure of the Elizabethan age, the only English painter whose work reflects, in its delicate microcosm, the world of Shakespeare's earlier plays. He mostly painted small oval miniatures, but also some larger cabinet miniatures, up to about ten inches tall, and at least two famous half-length panel portraits of Elizabeth. Drawing of Elizabeth Stuart, Electress Palatine, and her son Frederick Henry, probably for an engraving[35], Originally dated as 1550; date altered according to Edmond (1983). It showcases new archival research and stunning images, many reproduced in color for the first time. He probably returned to England about 1559. Nicholas Hilliard QC. Nicholas Hilliard, court miniaturist and engraver, was born in Exeter, the younger son of Richard Hilliard, high-sheriff of Devon in 1560, and of a London goldsmith's daughter. As part of the cult of the Virgin Queen, courtiers were rather expected to wear the Queen's likeness, at least at Court. Omissions? Biography. Apart from Laurence, who continued in a "feeble" version of his father's style, his pupils included Isaac Oliver, by far the most important, and Rowland Lockey. Nicholas Hilliard, (born 1547, Exeter, Devon, Eng.—died Jan. 7, 1619, London), the first great native-born English painter of the Renaissance. He was the author of an important treatise on miniature painting, now called The Art of Limning (c. 1600), preserved in the Bodleian Library. Nicholas Hilliard (c. 1547 – 7 January 1619) 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 was Called to the Bar (M) in 1981 and took Silk in 2008. The National Portrait Gallery and British Museum in London have several others. Throughout his life Hilliard practiced as goldsmith and jeweller as well as miniaturist, and in 1584 he designed Queen Elizabeth’s second great seal. He enjoyed continuing success as an artist, and continuing financial troubles, for forty-five years. When the Earl of Rutland returned from an embassy to Denmark, sixteen members of his party were given chains of gold with the king's picture, and others received just a picture. Courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum, London (1547–1619). This art-historical biography … From the 1590s on his old pupil Isaac Oliver was a competitor, who was appointed as Limner to the new Queen Anne of Denmark in 1604, and then to Henry, Prince of Wales when he established his own household in 1610. Nicholas Hilliard was born about 1547 in Exeter in south-west England. He added to the techniques available, especially for clothes and jewels, often exploiting the tiny shadows cast by thick dots of paint to give a three-dimensionality to pearls and lace. The Armada Jewel, given by Elizabeth to Sir Thomas Heneage and the Drake Pendant given to Sir Francis Drake are the best known examples. This year was the 400th anniversary of the death of the miniaturist, medallist, illuminator and painter Nicholas Hilliard, arguably the first internationally acclaimed English artist. His paintings still exemplify the visual image of Elizabethan England, very different from that of most of Europe in the late sixteenth century. [8] He married Brandon's daughter Alice (1556–1611) in 1576[11] and they had seven children. Name: Brian Nicholas Hilliard. [21], 21st century research at Waddesdon Manor has transformed our understanding of his work as two large-scale paintings have been newly attributed to him. Nicholas Hilliard was born in Exeter, Devon in England in 1547 to Richard Hilliard and Laurence Wall. Money was a persistent problem for Hilliard. Hilliard az első 16. századbeli angol festőművész, akinek életéről számottevő dokumentummal rendelkezünk. This illustrated biography follows Nicholas Hilliard’s long and remarkable life (c. 1547–1619) from the West Country to the heart of the Elizabethan and Jacobean courts. Nicholas Hilliard was born in Exeter. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). John Bodley went into exile on the accession of the Catholic Queen Mary I of England, and on 8 May 1557 Hilliard, then ten years old, was recorded in Geneva as one of an eleven-strong Bodley family group at a Calvinist service presided over by John Knox. Hilliard had a tumultuous childhood due to the Reformation, the spread of Protestantism that occurred during the 16th century. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The ten millionth article, a short biography of 16th century English goldsmith and painter Nicholas Hilliard, was created in the Hungarian Wikipedia by user Pataki Márta. [6] Hilliard may have been a close relative of Grace Hiller (Hilliar), first wife of Theophilus Eaton (1590–1657), the co-founder of New Haven Colony in America.[7]. Miniature of Elizabeth I, 1572, National Portrait Gallery, London. About 1570 he entered the royal service as limner (miniature painter) and goldsmith, in which capacity he designed the Second Great Seal of the Kingdom. On the accession of James I, in 1603, his appointment as limner to the crown was continued, but he seems to have found the atmosphere of the new court less congenial to his art. "[12] In 1571 he had made "a booke of portraitures" for the Earl of Leicester, the Queen's favourite, which is likely to be how he became known to the Court; several of his children were named after Leicester and his circle. [18] In 1599 Hilliard secured an annual allowance from the Queen of £40, and in 1617 managed to obtain a monopoly on producing miniatures and engravings of James I, something Elizabeth had refused in 1584. az angol miniatúrafestészet híres képviselője, arcképfestő, aranyműves, udvari festő. V&A. Francis Bacon was attached to the embassy, and Hilliard did a miniature of him in Paris. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nicholas-Hilliard, Web Gallery of Art - Biography of Nicholas Hilliard, Nicholas Hilliard - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). In Geneva the young Hilliard lived with the family of John Bodley—who would later become a publisher of the Geneva Bible—and was first exposed to the French language, French art, and a humanist education. 1547-1619) executed miniature portraits of Queen Elizabeth I and her courtiers, set in jeweled lockets, that are the most original and characteristic pictures painted in England in the late 16th century. Find more prominent pieces of portrait at Wikiart.org – best visual art database. Strong describes the opening of the shop as "a revolution" which soon broadened the clientele for miniatures from the Court to the gentry, and by the end of the century to well-off city merchants.[23]. It showcases new archival research and stunning images, many reproduced in color for the first time. Both were dead by the time of Hilliard's birth, and in many respects he is more conservative even than Holbein. Elizabeth had her own collection of miniatures, kept locked in a cabinet in her bedroom, wrapped in paper and labelled, with the one labelled "My Lord's picture" containing a portrait of Leicester. Hilliard’s portraits—some no larger than a watch-face—have decisively shaped perceptions of the appearances … His Honour Judge Nicholas Richard Maybury Hilliard QC, aged 60 will be known as The Honourable Mr Justice Hilliard. [26] As a New Year's day gift in 1584, Hilliard presented Queen Elizabeth wirh a picture of the story of five wise and foolish virgins. He mostly painted small oval miniatures, but also some larger cabinet miniatures, up to about ten inches tall, and at least two famous half-length panel portraits of Elizabeth. Hilliard painted a portrait of himself at the age of 13 in 1560[9] and is said to have executed one of Mary, Queen of Scots, when he was eighteen years old.[7]. He explained that he had trained apprentices who now competed with him in the private painting market. Nicholas Hilliard (c. 1547 – January 7 1619) was the first true english born painter of English miniatures . Hilliard’s son Laurence (c. 1582–1640) also practiced miniature painting, but a much more eminent pupil of Hilliard’s was the French-born miniaturist Isaac Oliver. After his return from France he had invested in a scheme, or perhaps scam, for gold-mining in Scotland, which he still remembered bitterly twenty-five years later. Hilliard's earliest miniature of Elizabeth, executed when she was 38 years old. [3] He was the son of Richard Hilliard (1519–1594) of Exeter, Devon, also spelt Hellyer, a goldsmith who became a staunch Protestant and was Sheriff of Exeter in 1568,[4] by his marriage to Laurence, daughter of John Wall, a City of London goldsmith. Probably one of the alternative designs Elizabeth requested for her new Great Seal of England in 1584 - another version was chosen. Sir Nicholas Richard Maybury Hilliard is a British judge who was the Recorder of London, an ancient and senior legal post at the Old Bailey, and before that Common Serjeant of London, the Recorder's second. [10] She was the daughter of Simon Bening, the last great master of the Flemish manuscript illumination tradition, and became court painter to Henry VIII after Holbein's death. Hilliard emerged from his apprenticeship at a time when a new royal portrait painter was "desperately needed". This illustrated biography follows Nicholas Hilliard’s long and remarkable life (c. 1547–1619) from the West Country to the heart of the Elizabethan and Jacobean courts. [33] He probably made few drawings; certainly few have survived. A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2007/September. Although it was once believed that the author of that treatise was John de Critz, Serjeant Painter to James I, from instructions by Hilliard for the benefit of one of his pupils, perhaps Isaac Oliver,[7] more recent scholarship holds that the Art "can be dated rather closely and established convincingly" as the work of Hilliard.[5]. Nicholas Hilliard The English painter Nicholas Hilliard (ca. Corrections? Strong (1975), p.5 – Paulet seems careful to avoid any suggestion of emigration in this despatch home. Nicholas Hilliard QC, appearing for the CPS, acknowledged the police could not be relied upon to ensure access to documents that the defence might require and the prosecution was fatally undermined as a result. They met when Richard was apprenticed to goldsmith John Wall of London. [17] Around the year 1574 Hilliard invested in a gold mine in Scotland with Cornelius de Vos and lost money. His father, a proponent of the Reformed religion, sent him to Geneva to escape persecution in England. [31] His normal technique (except for duplicates of royal images) was to paint the whole face in the presence of the sitter, probably in at least two sittings. Nicholas Hilliard, (born 1547, Exeter, Devon, Eng.—died Jan. 7, 1619, London), the first great native-born English painter of the Renaissance. Nicholas Hilliard (c. 1547 – 7 January 1619) 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. [25], His appointment as miniaturist to the Crown included the old sense of a painter of illuminated manuscripts and he was commissioned to decorate important documents, such as the founding charter of Emmanuel College, Cambridge (1584), which has an enthroned Elizabeth within an elaborate framework of Flemish-style Renaissance ornament. His lyrical portraits raised the art of painting miniature portraiture (called limning in Elizabethan England) to its highest point of development and did much to formulate the concept of portraiture there during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This illustrated biography follows Nicholas Hilliard’s long and remarkable life (c. 1547–1619) from the West Country to the heart of the Elizabethan and Jacobean courts. [13], Despite this patronage, in 1576 the recently married Hilliard left for France "with no other intent than to increase his knowledge by this voyage, and upon hope to get a piece of money of the lords and ladies here for his better maintenance in England at his return", carefully reported the English Ambassador in Paris, Sir Amyas Paulet, with whom Hilliard stayed for much of the time. Nicholas Hilliard was born in Exeter. [22], After his return from France he lived and worked in a house in Gutter Lane, off Cheapside, from 1579 to 1613, when his son and pupil Laurence took it over, carrying on in business for many decades. The masters mentioned in The Art of Limning are Hans Holbein the Younger, Henry VIII's court painter, and Albrecht Dürer, who he probably only knew from his prints. HILLIARD, NICHOLAS (1537–1619), miniature-painter, goldsmith, and jeweller, was a younger son of Richard Hilliard, a citizen of Exeter, and high sheriff of that city and county in 1560, who is said to have been descended from an old Yorkshire family. 9, 156–7, gives the identity of this painting as "almost certainly" the Earl of Essex, Strong (1975) pp. Strong (1983), pp. Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke c. 1590, Lettice Knollys, Countess of Leicester c. 1590–1595, Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, daughter of James I, 1605–10. [5] He was one of four boys: two others became goldsmiths, and one a clergyman. [16] A portrait of the Earl of Northumberland cost £3 in 1586. [14] He remained until 1578–79, mixing in the artistic circles round the court, staying with Germain Pilon and George of Ghent, respectively the Queen's sculptor and painter, and meeting Ronsard, who perhaps paid him the rather double-edged compliment later quoted by Hilliard: "the islands indeed seldom bring forth any cunning man, but when they do it is in high perfection". Nonetheless, he was briefly imprisoned in Ludgate Prison that year, after standing surety for the debt of another, and being unable to produce the amount. He enjoyed continuing success as an artist, and continuing financial troubles, for forty-five years. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. His Treatise also states that he derived his sensibility from that of the painter Hans Holbein the Younger, a German portraitist working in England, whose influence doubtless accounts for Hilliard’s preference for even, nondramatic lighting and firm contours, as seen in the miniatures An Unknown Youth Leaning Against a Tree Among Roses and An Unknown Man Against a Background of Flames. It showcases new archival research and stunning images, many reproduced in color for the first time. Hilliard asked that Cecil employ his son as a clerk, because he could not keep him in his own trade. He emphasises the need to catch "the grace in countenance, in which the affections appear, which can neither be well used nor well-judged of but by the wiser sort". He was appointed to that office in May 2013. This illustrated biography follows Nicholas Hilliard’s long and remarkable life (c. 1547–1619) from the West Country to the heart of the Elizabethan and Jacobean courts. So the "wise drawer" should "watch" and "catch these lovely graces, witty smilings, and these stolen glances which suddenly like lightning pass and another countenance taketh place". His father was a goldsmith, and Nicholas was apprenticed to a goldsmith by 1562. His paintings still exemplify the visual image of Elizabethan England He mostly painted small oval miniatures, but also some larger cabinet miniatures, up to about ten inches tall, and at least two famous half-length panel portraits of Elizabeth. He appears to have been attached at a young age to the household of the leading Exeter Protestant John Bodley, the father of Thomas Bodley who founded the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Sir Nicholas Richard Maybury Hilliard QC (born 1 May 1959) is a British judge who was the 80th Common Serjeant of London, an ancient and senior legal post at the Old Bailey second only to that of the Recorder of London. His father-in-law evidently had little trust in his financial acumen; his will of 1591 provided for his daughter by an allowance administered by the Goldsmiths' Company. Hilliard drawings are rare. Nicholas Hilliard, court miniaturist and engraver, was born in Exeter, the younger son of Richard Hilliard, high-sheriff of Devon in 1560, and of a London goldsmith's daughter. Her Majesty .. chose her place to sit for that purpose in the open alley of a goodly garden, where no tree was near, nor any shadow at all ..."[30]. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. He also seems to have designed woodcut title-page frames and borders for books, some of which bear his initials. Miniature of Elizabeth I, c. 1586–87, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. Hilliard was appointed limner (miniaturist) and goldsmith to Elizabeth I at an unknown date;[11] his first known miniature of the Queen is dated 1572, and already in 1573 he was granted the reversion of a lease by the Queen for his "good, true and loyal service. [34] Oliver had travelled abroad and developed a more modern style than his master, and was certainly better at perspective drawing, though he could not match Hilliard in freshness and psychological penetration. Hilliard had moved to an unknown address in the parish of St Martins-in-the-Fields, out of the city and nearer the Court. Did you know... that Nicholas Hilliard (pictured), portrait miniaturist to Elizabeth I and James I of England, was chronically short of funds and was briefly imprisoned for debt in Ludgate ? ‘Queen Elizabeth I’ was created in 1575 by Nicholas Hilliard in Northern Renaissance style. Nicholas Hilliard: Life of an Artist Elizabeth Goldring. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. It showcases new archival research and stunning images, many reproduced in color for the first time. The new data supports Sir Roy Strong's 1983 attribution of the portrait of Elizabeth to Hilliard. The picture of his own dapper handsomeness that Nicholas Hilliard created in 1577, when he was about 30, is a revolutionary assertion that artists are stars who belong in the best society. After his seven years' apprenticeship, Hilliard was made a freeman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in 1569. Calvinism does not seem to have struck with Hilliard, but the fluent French he acquired abroad was later useful. Hilliard became miniature painter to Queen Elizabeth I about 1570 and made many portraits of her and of the leading members of her court. Actually, they are apocryphal paintings painted in the XVII century during the reign of James I. Thery are called "Sheffield portraits" and have the date 1578 because they were inspired by an original and contemporary portrait of Queen Mary painted by Nicholas Hilliard when … 14–18, quoting a revealing account of 1564 by Sir, Portrait of Sir Francis Drake wearing the Drake Pendant, 1591, "A radical new look at the greatest of Elizabethan artists | Apollo Magazine", Second Great Seal of Elizabeth I, designed by Hilliard c. 1584, "Dangers Averted" medal, c. 1569, attributed to Hilliard, "Nicholas Hilliard's 'Young Man Among Roses, "Nicholas Hilliard (1547–1619), Miniature painter", 12 artworks by or after Nicholas Hilliard, Power & Portraiture exhibition: painting at the court of Elizabeth I, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nicholas_Hilliard&oldid=1011952877, Articles with dead external links from December 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox artist with unknown parameters, Wikipedia articles with KULTURNAV identifiers, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with RKDartists identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with Trove identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with multiple identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 13 March 2021, at 19:43. Hometown: Moreno Valley, CA, USA. From 6 January 2015 he was Recorder of London, the senior judge at the Old Bailey. He mostly painted small oval miniatures, but also some larger cabinet miniatures, up to about ten inches tall, and at least two famous half-length panel portraits of Elizabeth. [8] Thomas Bodley, two years older, continued an intensive classical education under leading scholars in Geneva, but it is not clear to what extent Hilliard was given similar studies. Birthdate: July 29, 1982. The conditions in which miniatures have been kept ensure that many remain in excellent condition, and have avoided the attention of restorers, although fading of pigments, and oxidization of silver paint are common. Nicholas Hilliard (c. 1547 – 7 January 1619) 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. Throughout his life he had financial difficulties, and he was imprisoned for debt for a short period in 1617. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. His lyrical portraits raised the art of painting miniature portraiture (called limning in Elizabethan England) to its highest point of development and did much to formulate the concept of portraiture there during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Current Residence: Plano, TX, USA He paid a short visit to France in the service of the duc d’Alençon but returned early in 1578 because his wife was expecting a child. He took up that appointment on 19 November 2019 ceasing to be Reco The portraits, of Sir Amyas Paulet and Elizabeth, are painted on French oak panels, not the Baltic oak commonly used in England, and are thought to date to Hilliard's time in France. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. View the shortlist. Nicholas Hilliard, court miniaturist and engraver, was born in Exeter, the younger son of Richard Hilliard, high-sheriff of Devon in 1560, and of a London goldsmith's daughter. In his Treatise on the Arte of Limning (c. 1600) he gives an account of his method and many sidelights on his own mercurial and engaging temperament. Apollo Book of the Year 2019 Nicholas Hilliard: Life of an Artist by Elizabeth Goldring "This book is not just the definitive biography of Hiliard but essential reading for anyone interested in late 16tth and early 17th century England" - Catherine MacLeod - senior curator of 17th century portraits at the National Portrait Gallery, London. He then painted the outlines of the features very faintly with a "pencil", actually a very fine pointed squirrel-hair brush, before filling these out by faint hatchings. Nicholas Hilliard (c. 1547 – 7 January 1619) 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. James did not like sitting for his portrait and Hilliard probably had few sittings with him. [32] A few half-finished miniatures give a good idea of his working technique. Birthplace: Houston, Tx, USA. 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. Nicholas Hilliard (c. 1547 – 7 January 1619) 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. Artist Nicholas Hilliard was the first great native-born English painter of the Renaissance.His portraits raised the art of painting miniature portraiture (called limning in Elizabethan England) to its highest point of development during the late 16th and early 17th centuries.. Hilliard was born in 1547 in Exeter, Devon, England. Hilliard's earliest surviving miniatures, painted when he was 13, are reminiscent of the little round portraits decorating the … He and his wife bore another three sons; John and Jeremy, both became goldsmiths; the other, Ezechial , became rector of the Stoke Climsland church in Cornwall. By far the largest collection of his work is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. [20] During a low point in his finances, in July 1601 Hilliard wrote to the Secretary of State Robert Cecil acknowledging the annuity of £40, but asking permission to retire from London and live more cheaply in the countryside. [28] James's more lavish presentation of portraits had its effect on the quality of the work from the Hilliard workshop. [10] Two panel portraits long attributed to him, the "Phoenix" and "Pelican" portraits, are dated c. 1572–76. He died on about 3 January 1619 and was buried on 7 January 1619 in the church of St Martins-in-the-Fields, Westminster, leaving in his will twenty shillings to the poor of the parish, thirty between his two sisters, some goods to his maidservant, and all the rest of his effects to his son, Lawrence Hilliard, his sole executor.[7]. He appears to have given lessons to amateurs also; a letter from a young lady being "finished" in London in 1595 says: "For my drawing, I take an hour in the afternoon ... My Lady.. telleth me, He continued to work as a goldsmith, and produced some spectacular "picture boxes" or jewelled lockets for miniatures, worn round the neck, such as the Lyte Jewel in the British Museum, which, typically, was given by James I (more generous in this respect than Elizabeth) to a courtier, Thomas Lyte, in 1610. Updates? He kept a number of prepared flesh-coloured blanks ready, in different shades, to save time on laying the "carnation" ground. The miniature of Madame de Sourdis, certainly the work of Hilliard, is dated 1577, in which year she was a maid of honour at the French court; and other portraits which are his work are believed to represent Gabrielle d'Estrées (niece of Madame de Sourdis), la princesse de Condé, and Madame de Montgomery.[7]. Nicholas Hilliard (más írásmódban Hillyard; Exeter, 1547 körül – London, 1619. január 7.) The same year the Queen gave him £400,[19] a large amount, after he made a second Great Seal, and perhaps bearing in mind that he had not had an annuity. Murder of Daniel Morgan-Wikipedia. He was appointed to that office in May 2013. He was appointed as a Recorder in 2000, as a Senior Circuit Judge in 2012, as the Common Serjeant in 2013 and as the Recorder of London in 2015. At that time it was customary to educate middle-class children by placing them in a family of rank, and it seems that from about the age of nine Nicholas lived with the Bodley family. Nicholas Hilliard - Portrait of Charles Howard, 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham, later 1st Earl o - 1960.39 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif 6,000 × 8,000; 137.35 MB Nicholas Hilliard - Portrait of George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland - WGA11421.jpg 648 × 930; 151 KB His father was a successful goldsmith. In October 2019 it was announced that was to be appointed as a judge of the High Court of Justice. His earliest known attempts at miniature painting were made in 1560, and his talent is obvious in Self Portrait Aged 13 and Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset. English art was distinctly provincial, and Hilliard's art is a world away from that of the early-Baroque Italian artists of his time, or his close contemporary El Greco (1541–1614). [5] He set up a workshop with his younger brother John; another brother was also a goldsmith, and the youngest a clergyman. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Whether he received his early training as a goldsmith and jeweler in Exeter or in London is uncertain, as is the date when he took up his preferred art of miniature painting.