Nicholas Hilliard

Nicholas Hilliard was the preeminent English limner of Elizabeth I and James I, capturing the essence of Elizabethan England in exquisite miniature portraits.

ABOUT

Nicholas Hilliard, born in Exeter around 1547, rose to become the most celebrated English artist of his time, renowned for his exquisite portrait miniatures. His early life was marked by his goldsmith father's staunch Protestantism and an exile in Geneva with the Bodley family during the reign of Catholic Queen Mary I. This period likely exposed him to French culture, a skill that would later prove useful. He apprenticed with Robert Brandon, the Queen's jeweller, and may hav…

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NOTABLE WORKS

Portrait of a Woman 1475 · Metropolitan Museum of Art Portrait of a Man 1480 · Cleveland Museum of Art William Cecil (1520–1598), Lord Burghley 1565 · Burrell Collection Man in an Armillary Sphere 1569 Sir Thomas Knyvett 1569 Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester 1572 · Victoria and Albert Museum

See all of Nicholas's works in Art Whisper

INFLUENCES

Influenced by

Levina TeerlincFlemish Manuscript Illumination Hans Holbein the YoungerNorthern Renaissance

Influenced

Isaac OliverPortrait Miniatures Laurence HilliardPortrait Miniatures