Isaac Oliver

This article is about the English portrait miniature painter. For the playwright, author and humorist, seeIsaac Oliver (writer).

Young Man Seated under a Tree,1590–95,Royal Collection

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

Life and work

Born inRouenaround 1565, he moved to London in 1568 with hisHuguenotparents Peter and Epiphany Oliver to escape theWars of Religionin France. He then studiedminiature paintingunderNicholas Hilliard;and developed anaturalisticstyle, which was largely influenced byItalianandFlemishart. His first wife, Elizabeth, died in 1599. With her he fatheredPeter Oliver,who was also eminent in miniature painting. In 1602, he married Sara, daughter of the well-known portrait painterMarcus Gheeraerts the Elder(c. 1520– c. 1590) and his wife Susannah de Critz. Susannah was the daughter of Troilus de Critz, agoldsmithfromAntwerp,and close relative ofJohn de Critz,theQueen'sSerjeant-Painter.She was also the eldest sister or cousin of Magdalen de Critz, who marriedMarcus Gheeraerts the Younger(1562–1635).

After the death ofElizabeth I,he became a painter ofJames I's court, painting numerous portraits of the queenAnne of DenmarkandHenry Frederick, Prince of Wales.

Oliver died in London in 1617 and was buried at the church ofSt Ann Blackfriars,which was destroyed in theGreat Fire of London.

Some of his work is housed inWindsor Castle.Some of his pen drawings are located in theBritish Museum.

Gallery

Portrait miniatures

• 
  Portrait of a Young Gentleman (possibly Sir Philip Sydney), 1605
• 
  Unknown Woman in Masque Costume, 1609
• 
  Philip Herbert,Fourth Earl of Pembroke, 1611
• 
  Charles Ias Prince of Wales, 1615

Larger works

• 
  Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury
• 
  Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset,cabinet miniature, 1616
• 
  Elizabeth I and thethree GoddessesJuno,Minerva&Venus

See also

• List of British artists

External links

• Williamson, George Charles(1911)."Oliver, Isaac".InChisholm, Hugh(ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 20 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 88.
• "Oliver, Isaac".Dictionary of National Biography.London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
• Isaac Oliver online(ArtCyclopedia)
• Three Louvre miniatures recently attributed to Isaac OliverArchived26 September 2015 at theWayback Machine(The Art Tribune – 20 Sep. 2008)
• "Nicholas Hilliard & his Pupil Isaac Oliver".Paintings & Drawings.Victoria and Albert Museum.Archived fromthe originalon 13 July 2007.Retrieved21 August2007.
• 6 artworks by or after Isaac Oliverat theArt UKsite