Miniatures, ancient and modern . coffee-house in 1733. In HilHards miniaturescan be seen the love for details of jewellerywhich his early training- as a goldsmith had nodoubt fostered ; he revels in Elizabeths neck-laces and pendants, and also loves the rich laceruflfs and ornamental dress which was worn atthat time. Most of Hilliards miniatures arevery decorative, whether they portray men orwomen. On a contemporary portrait he is describedas Nicholas Hilliardus aurifaber, sculptoret Celebris illuminator serenissimae ReginaeElizabethce 1577. A French writer, BlaiseVigenere, says that Hilliard
Miniatures, ancient and modern . coffee-house in 1733. In HilHards miniaturescan be seen the love for details of jewellerywhich his early training- as a goldsmith had nodoubt fostered ; he revels in Elizabeths neck-laces and pendants, and also loves the rich laceruflfs and ornamental dress which was worn atthat time. Most of Hilliards miniatures arevery decorative, whether they portray men orwomen. On a contemporary portrait he is describedas Nicholas Hilliardus aurifaber, sculptoret Celebris illuminator serenissimae ReginaeElizabethce 1577. A French writer, BlaiseVigenere, says that Hilliard painted his minia-tures with a brush made of the hair from asquirrels tail instead of the usual stiff crowsfeather. Hilliard must have been a very successfulman, as he painted most of the very greatpeople of his time, and, finally, he must havedrawn a considerable income by reason of alicence given by James I, To our principaldrawer of small portraits, by authority ofwhich he held a monopoly for twelve years rtL^KM reuif»ATitMa. QUEEN ELIZABETHBy Nicholas HiUiard NICHOLAS MILLIARD 59 to invent, make, grave, and imprint anypictures of our image ; but besides this he hadthe privilege of granting permission to othersto pubHsh portraits of the King, and that noone presume to do so without his licence. Sir Richard Holmes, than whom there is nobetter judge of miniatures living, has publishedtwo most admirably illustrated articles onHilliards work ; these papers will be found inthe Burlington Magazine for January and Feb-ruary, 1906. Hilliard closely follows Holbeins lead ; hisminiatures are usually circular, with blue back-grounds, and always on vellum. In all hiswork there is to be found not only a thoroughlybroad and noble treatment of the subject, butalso a marvellously delicate finish throughout,face and accessories. He knew many of hiscolours would fade, and we will presently seewhat he says about this in his treatise, as wellas his views about shadows. Among the most notable o
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