doublet , and a ruff , with a black cape over his shoulder . He could be a lover from a Shakespeare comedy , like “ Twelfth Night ” or “ As You Like It .” Hilliard employs very little shading ; his colors are nearly as flat as those of a Japanese print .
A mania for miniatures overtook the ruling classes in Elizabethan England . They were often enclosed in a locket , exchanged between courtly lover , often containing a coded message .
He leans against a tree with his hand over his heart . In the foreground are thorny stems and a few white wild roses . This may be a small picture , but it is loaded with symbolism . The colors , black and white , were those of Queen Elizabeth , and the eglantine rose was her emblem . This miniature may well have been a present to the queen , and the young man is thought to be Robert Devereux , the Second Earl of Essex ( 1566 – 1601 ), who had a love-hate relationship with the aging queen that led to an attempted coup d ’ etat and resulted in his beheading . His tale may have a sad ending , but this lovely picture remains .
The Flemish painter Adriaen Brouwer ( 1605-1638 ) had a brief career , but he left the world more paintings than his contemporary Johannes Vermeer , who lived a decade longer . One reason may be because he worked so small and was able to complete his pictures in less time . “ Youth Making a Face ,” roughly the same size as Rogier ’ s “ St . George ,” displays the artist ’ s typical irreverence .
“ Young Man Among the Roses ,” 1587 Nicholas Hilliard , 5 ¼ by 2 ⅞ ”
Brouwer ’ s favorite subject was working men , soldiers , and peasants drinking , smoking , gambling , and wenching in taverns . By some accounts , he was a bit of a wastrel himself , the black sheep of his family . Legend has it that he wasn ’ t invited to celebrations because he dressed badly , so he bought a fancy suit , presented himself to his host in his new apparel , and won an invitation . At the event itself , he smeared food all over his suit , explaining that since they had invited his suit and not him , he thought he should feed the suit and not himself .
By other accounts , Brouwer was a perfect gentleman whose paintings of rowdy peasants suited the tastes of the bourgeoisie . Seventeenth century Holland was one of the first times and places in which artists produced work for the open market rather than on commission . The upper classes liked to be reassured that the lower classes were happily celebrating after a hard day ’ s work . Dutch artists like Brouwer , along with Rembrandt and Frans Hals , invented the “ tronie ,” a picture that looked like a portrait but was not intended to honor an individual . Brouwer ’ s young man , making a funny face like an attentionseeking child , was just what the ruling classes wanted to think the working classes really were . The knife in the young man ’ s
“ Youth Making a Face ,” 1635 Adriaen Brouwer , 5 ⅜ by 4 ⅛ ”
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