Lot 117: f - ISAAC OLIVER 1565-1617

inscribed l.l.: Is.^c Oliver

pen and brown ink and watercolour over pencil heightened with white on laid paper, corners cut, unframed

17 by 14 cm., 6 3/4 by 5 1/2 in.

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN

It is likely that this drawing was executed between 1597 and 1605, after Oliver's first visit to Italy and before he was made 'painter for the Art of Limning' to Queen Anne of Denmark, wife of James I. It is related to a series of 'al antica' female mythological figures, which includes Diana (B.M.G.360), both in subject matter and in its treatment. The use of pen and brown ink is typical of the drawings by Oliver executed after this first continental journey but this use of wash is rare at this date, becoming more common later. The style reflects the influence of artists working in the Courts of Fontainebleau and Prague, a style also found in the group of miniature portraits executed around 1600 which includes the portrait of 'Francis Howard' (Victoria and Albert Museum, formerly in the collection of Lord Derby). In this group the figures are executed in grisaille and are very sculptural in form.

Little is known of Isaac Oliver's background. His father, a Huguenot goldsmith and pewterer, fled from Rouen with his family and was in England by 1568. Isaac Oliver was apprenticed to Nicholas Hilliard, but his knowledge of contemporary Netherlandish art suggests that he also studied in the Low Countries.