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Nicholas Hilliard
(1547?–1619)

Biographical

A miniature-painter, goldsmith, limner, calligrapher, and jeweller, Hilliard is recognised as the founder of the English school of miniature painting. He began painting miniatures at a young age and, by thirteen, had painted a self-portrait, signed and dated 'N. H. 1550'. As a teenager, he also created a portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, at just eighteen. Between 1562 and 1569, Hilliard served as an apprentice to Robert Brandon, a prominent goldsmith and jeweller to Queen Elizabeth, later marrying his daughter, Alice. In 1569, he became a freeman of the Goldsmiths' Company. Hilliard was appointed goldsmith, carver, and limner to Queen Elizabeth, painting her both as princess and as queen. He spent time in France between 1576 and 1578, where he quickly integrated into French society, making friends with notable artists and intellectuals. There, on the queen's instruction, he painted the portrait of François, duc d'Alençon, her suitor. Returning to England, he engraved the second great seal of Elizabeth in 1586, which is considered more artistically significant than others of the era. In 1587, he was granted a lease of the manor of Poyle in Stanmore, Middlesex, in recognition of his work on the Great Seal of England. Under James I, he received a grant in 1617 giving him exclusive rights for twelve years to produce and license portraits of the king and his family. This privilege brought him significant profit, enabling him to grant licenses for the sale of royal portraits and to seize unauthorised ones. Hilliard employed Simon van de Pass and others to assist in engraving royal images. In his will, made shortly before his death, he left 20s. to the poor of his parish, distributed the remainder of his pension to his sisters, and bequeathed the rest of his estate to his son Laurence, who followed in his father’s footsteps, though no works by him are known. Hilliard's miniatures, executed with great care and accuracy, were highly valued during his lifetime, though his pupil Isaac Oliver surpassed him in skill, with many of Hilliard’s finest miniatures now attributed to Oliver. His works were typically painted on card or vellum, sometimes on the backs of playing cards, using opaque colours enhanced with gold, although his figures often appear pale and without shadows. Thirteen of Hilliard’s miniatures were in the collection of Charles I, who also purchased from Hilliard’s son a remarkable jewel containing portraits of Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Queen Jane Seymour, with an enamelled battle scene of Bosworth and the red and white roses. While the portraits now reside at Windsor Castle, the jewel itself has long since vanished.

Place of birth: Exeter
Place of marriage: St Vedast, London
Place of death: Parish of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster
Place of burial: Parish church of St Martin-in-the-Fields

Son of Richard Hilliard and Laurence Hall, he married Alice Brandon in 1576, and had issue.