A BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF
BLOCK, Daniel, a painter of portraits, was born
at Stettin, in Poraerania, in 1580. He was a scholar
of Jakob Scherer, a portrait painter of reputation,
under whom he soon became proficient ; and he
ultimately surpassed his instructor. He was em-
ployed at the courts of Denmark and Sweden, and
passed many years in the service of the Duke of
Mecklenburg. By the exertion of very reputable
talents he gained a large fortune, of which he was
deprived by plunder. He died in 1661.
BLOCK, Jacob Roger, a Dutch painter, was bom at Gouda in 1580. He went to Italy when he was very young, and applied himself particularly to the study of architecture and perspective. He made designs of the fine remains of antiquity in the environs of Rome, and, on his return to Holland, painted some pictures composed from those subjects, which were highly esteemed. Hou- braken reports that Rubens, in a journey he made through Holland, visited this artist, and on seeing his works, pronounced him the ablest painter of his country in the subjects he represented. He also excelled in military architecture, and was taken into the service of the Archduke Leopold, whom he accompanied in some of his campaigns. He was killed by a fall from his horse in 1632.
BLOCKLANDT, Antonis van. See Montfoort.
BLOEM, A., was a native of Germany, and resided at Vienna in the seventeenth century. He was chiefly emploj'ed by the booksellers. He en- graved the portraits, views, battles, &c. for a book entitled ' Istoria di Leopoldo Cesare,' published at Vienna in 1674. The plates are etched, and finished with the graver.
BLOEM, M., is the author of a picture of ' Dead Game,' in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, which bears his name and the date 1653 ; another picture of still-life in the same gallery is also attributed to him. No details of his life are recorded.
BLOEMAERT, Abraham, a Dutch painter and engraver, was born atGorcum about 1564. He was the son of an architect and sculptor, who placed him under the tuition of Joost de Beer, but he seems to have profited most by studying and copying the works of Frans Floris. In 1581 he went to Paris, where he stayed three years, studying under Jean Bassot and Herry, two unimportant painters. On his return to his native country he studied at Herenthals under Hieronymus Francken. He subsequently painted at Amsterdam and at Utrecht, where he died about 1658. He painted history and landscapes, allegory, mythology, ani- mals, and flowers, and was a very productive artist. His colouring is excellent, but his dramng is very defective, and frequently negligent. The following are his best works :
Berlin. Museum. Joseph's Dream. Copenhagen. Gallery. The children of Niohe killed liy the arrows of Apollo [painted for the Emperor Rudolph. 'Siyned). „ „ Hercules and Omphale; Venus and Adonis. Hague. Gallery. Hippomeues receiiing the prize (sii/ned and dated 16-6). „ „ The Marriage of Peleus {signed and dated 1638). Munich. Pinakothek.Hai^g of Lazarus (dated 1607; one of his best works). Paris. Louvre, '^a.tWity {siifnedanddatedQ). Utrecht. Gallery. Adoration of the Kings. Bloemaert numbers among his scholars his four sons, and Jan Gerritsen Cuyp, Gerard and Willem van Honthorst, Jan and Andries Both, Cornells van Poelenburg, and Jan Baptist Weenix. As an engraver, he has a claim to considerable attention. We have by him a number of plates etched in a free, bold, and masterly manner, some of which are in imitation of pen-drawings. But his most esteemed prints are those executed in chiaroscuro, the outlines of which, contrary to the usual process, are not cut on the blocks of wood, but are etched on copper. These are very spirited, and produce a good effect. His prints are some- times signed with his name at full length, but more frequently marked Ab. Bl. in., or A. BL, or thus, A. Bloe7n.
The following are his principal prints . E'ICniNGS BY A. BLOEMAERT. St. John, with a lamb. The Magdaleue penitent St. Peter peuiteut. The Holy Family ; J. Utarterus exc. 1593. Juno. Foiu: Landscapes, with figures and animals.
PRINTS IN CHIAROSCURO. Moses and Aaron. The Virgin and Infant Jesus. The Holy Family. Two Busts, the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph. St. Simon, with the Instrument of his martyrdom. The Magdalene, with a crucifix. St. Jerome reading ; A . Bio. Another St. Jerome ; after Parmiijiano ; marked F. P. A naked Infant ; after Titian. A Woman with a veil ; after Parmigianu.
BLOEMAERT, Adriaan, was the fourth son of Abraham Bloemaert, and received his first instruc- tion from his father. He was sent to Italy, where he studied some time. He afterwards visited Vienna, where he met with employment, and ulti- mately settled at Salzburg, and was killed in a duel in 1668. He painted history and portraits with some success. Heineken attributes to this artist several plates of portraits, although they are without his name.
BLOEMAERT, Cornelis, a very eminent en- graver, the third son of Abraham Bloemaert, was born at Utrecht in 1603. He was instructed by his father in the first principles of design, and from a natural inclination for engraving, he de- voted himself entirely to that art. His first master was Crispyn van de Passe, and it was not long before he surpassed his instructor. In 1630 he went to Paris, where he distinguished himself by some plates he engraved for the ' Temple of the Muses.' From Paris he went to Rome, where he fixed his residence, and where he lived the greater part of his life. He died there in 1680. This admirable artist distinguished himself not only by the beauty of his graver, but by a talent, unknown before him, of effecting an insensible gradation from his lights to his shadows, and introducing a delicate variety of tints, in the different distances in his subject. Previous to his time there was a great inattention to harmony, the lights being left in- discriminately clear, so that the picture was ren- dered spotty and incongruous. By this essential improvement he has established his claim to origin- ality, and may be said to have given birth to that admirable style which was afterwards so success- fully followed by the great engravers of tlie French school, Audran, Baudet, Picart, and Poilly.
His works are universally admired ; they are numerous, and several of them are become very
scarce. Some of his prints are marked C. Bl. and
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