APelles painted a Mare and a Dogge so liuelie

APelles painted a Mare and a Dogge so liuelie, that Horses and Dogges pas|sing by woulde neigh, and barke at them; hee grewe so famous for his excellent Art, that great Alexander came often to his shoppe to visite him, and commaunded that none other should paint him; at his death hee left Venus vnfinished, neither was anie euer founde, that durst perfect, what hee had begunne. Zeuxis was so excellent in painting, that it was easier for anie man to view his pictures, then to imitate them, who to make an excel|lent Table, had fiue Agrigentine Vir|gins naked by him; hee painted Grapes so liuelie, that Birdes did flie to eate them. Parrhasius painted a Sheete so artificiallie, that Zeuxis tooke it for a Sheete in deede, and commaunded it to bee taken away to see the picture, that hee thought it had vayled; as learned and skilfull Greece had these excellent|ly renowned for their limning: so Eng|lande hath these; Hiliard,  Isaac Oliuer, and Iohn de Creetes, very famous for their painting.

As Greece moreouer had these Pain|ters; Timantes, Phidias, Polignotus, Pa|neus, Bularchus, Eumarus, Cimon Cleonaeus, Pythis, Apollodorus Atheniensis, Aristi|des The banus Nicophanes, Perseus, An|tiphilus, and Nicearchus: so in Englande wee haue also these; William and Francis Segar brethren, Thomas and Iohn Bettes, Lockey, Lyne, Peake, Peter Cole, Arnolde, Marcus, Iaques de Bray, Cornelius, Peter Golchis, Hieronimo and Peter Vande Uelde. As Lysippus, Praxiteles, and Pyrgoteles, were excellent engrauers: so wee haue these engrauers, Rogers, Christoper Swit|ser, and Cure.


Meres, Francis, 1565-1647.
Title: Palladis tamia Wits treasury being the second part of Wits common wealth. By Francis Meres Maister of Artes of both vniuersities.
Date: 1598 

All the small vvorkes of that famous poet Iosuah Siluester

LITTLE BARTAS.

IF wanton Lovers so delight to gaze
On mortall Beauties brittle little Blaze;
That not content, with (almost) daily sight
Of Those deere Idols of their Appetite;
Nor, with th'Idëas which th'Idalian Dart
Hath deepe imprinted in their yielding heart;
Nor, with Their Pictures (with precisest charge)
Done by De-Creets, Marcus, or  Peake, at large
(And hangd of purpose, where they most frequent,
As some faire Chamber's choicest Ornament)
They must haue Heliard, Isaac, or His Sonne,
To doe in Little, what in Large was done;
That they may ever, ever beare about
A Pictures Picture (for the most, I doubt).
Much more shold Those, whose Soules, in Sacred Loue,
Are rapt with Beautie's-Proto-Type aboue

(Sith, heere, they cannot see th'ORIGINAL;
Nor, in themselues, now, finde His Principal)
Thirst for Their Obiect; and [much lesse content
With th'ample Table of the Firmament,
And various Visage of this goodly Globe,
Wherein, they see but (as it were) His Robe,
Embrodered rich; and with Great Works embost,
Of Power, of Prudence, & of Goodnes, most;
Yet, so farre-off, so massie, so immense,
As over-swaies Their weake Intelligence:
Or with that lesser Tablet of their Owne
(The Little-World, wherein the Great is show'n)
Which, neer & deer, though still about they beare,
Such Cloudes of Passion are still crowding there,
That seld or neuer can they ought perceiue
Of those pure Rayes it did at first receiue]
Long for Their Long-Home, past the Gates of Grace,
To see Their Loue, in Glory, face to face.
Till when; awhile to entertaine them heere
With Prospects fittest Their faint Thoughts to cheere
(Insted of That Great Vniversal Table,
Made in Six Dayes, with Art so admirable;
And, by My BARTAS, in His Weekes divine,
So large and liuely draw'n in every line) 

DU-VAL, and I (too short of Isaac's Art)
Haue Thus Essaid to play the Limners part,
And drawe in little (like a Quintessence)
That goodly Labours glorious Excellence;
For ease of Such, whom Publique Charge denies
Leasure to view so large Varieties:
And Such, whose Meanes may not affoord their Mindes
So costly Pleasures, of so Gain-less kindes:
And (lastly) Such, as, loving BARTAS best,
ould glad and faine still beare Him in their brest,
t in their Bosome, were He Pocket-fit,
As well He might; would Printers Gain permit.
Now therfore, Thou, All-forming ONLY-TRINE,
As, in the Large, Thou ledst His hand & Mine;
end likewise heere Thy gracious Help agen,
o guide aright my Pencil and my Pen;
o sute my Colours, sweet my Shadowes, so,
hat This my Little, Thy Great Works may showe.
And, grant, the-while, I be not like the Hand
Which at S. Albons, in the Street doth stand
irecting Others in the ready Way;
ut, void of minde, it Selfe behinde doth stay:
or, like a Buoy, which warneth from a Shelfe;
t lyes still wallowing in the Sea, it Selfe.


Author: Sylvester, Josuah, 1563-1618.
Title: All the small vvorkes of that famous poet Iosuah Siluester Gathered into one volume.
Date: 1620

pearl diving

stoat / Mustela erminea

stoat tooth burnisher
as recommended by Hilliard for the burnishing of silver when painting false jewels.





Ermines is a black field with white spots. A gold background with black ermine spots is styled erminois, and pean is a black ground with gold ermine spots. Erminites is supposed to be white with black ermine spots and a red hair on each side of the spots.














a white stoat would die before allowing its pure white coat to be besmirched

pearl diving

after
hilliard / a treatise concerning the arte of limning / 1598

And Columbus, on the third voyage, sailing in the Gulf of Paria, observing the mangroves lining the shore, with tiny oysters clinging to their roots… the oyster shells open, to catch from the mangrove leaves the dewdrops that engender pearls

metcalf / genoa /54

laws against images

Two curious documents concerning the office in the first
reign are known. One is a draft proclamation assigned to
the year 1563, to forbid all painters and gravers from
drawing the picture of the Queen, till some cunning
person meet therefor shall make a natural representation
of her Majesty's person as a pattern lor other
persons to copy. 3 The other is a licence granted to

' our welbeloved subjecte George Gower our Sargeant Paynter
. . . we do give & graunte. . the full sole & lawfull
priviledge . . that he shall by himself his deputy & deputies
assignee & assignees only, & none other . . . from henceforth
. . . make or cause to be made all & all maner of purtraictes
& pictures of our person ... in oyle cullers upon bourdes or
canvas or to grave the same on copper . . . [for his life we
appoint] George Gower our officer, maker, paynter, ... & doe
strictly forbydd & prohibit ... all & every other persone or
persons whatsoever, Englishmen or straingers
... to entermeddle with the making, painting,
or pryntinge . . . excepting only one, Nichas Hilliard. . . .' 4