HOLLAR, WENCESLAUS, was born at Prague, iu Bohemia, iu 1607. He was first intended for the profession of the law ; but partly from disinclination to that pursuit, and partly from the ruin of his family after the taking of Prague in 1619, his views iu life became changed, and he took to drawing and engraving. Ile had some instructions from Matthew Marian, an engraver who had worked under Vandyke and Rubens, and who is thought to have taught Holler that peculiar manner which marks the working on his plates.
Holler was but eighteen when the first specimens of his art appeared. These were a print of the Hem Homo,' and another of the Virgin, both small plates, with a Virgin and a Christ after Albert Direr, with Greek verses at the bottom of the plate, executed in 1625. He removed from Prague in 1627. During his stay in different towns of Germany he copied the pictures of several great artists, and took perspective views and draughts of cities, towns, and countries, by land and water, which in delicacy and miniature beauty were exceeded by no artist of his time. His views along the Rhine, the Danube, and the Neckar gained him his greatest reputation. In 1636, Howard, earl of Arundel, met with Holler, when proceeding on his embassy to Ferdinand IL, and immediately took him into his retinue. Holler attended him from Cologne to the emperor's court, and in this progress made several draughts and prints of the places through which they travelled. It was then that he took the view of Wiirzburg, under which is written "Holler delineavit in legations Arundeliana ad Imperatorem." He afterwards made a drawing of Prague which gave satisfaction to his patron.
After finishing his negociations in Germany, Lord Arundel brought Holler to England, where he was not confined to his lordship's service, but allowed to take employment from others. His prospect of Green wich, which he finished in two plates, dated in 1637, was one of his first works in England. In 1039 he etched several portraits of the royal family for the work which was published descriptive of the entry into this kingdom of Mary de' Mediela, the queen mother of France, to visit her daughter Henrietta Maria. About 1640 he seems to have been introduced to the royal family, to give the Prince of Wales a taste for the art of design. In this year appeared his beautiful set of figures entitled 'Oroatus Mnliebris Anglicanus, or the several habits of English women, from the nobilitie to the countrywomau, as they are in these times.' In 1641 were published his prints of King Charles and his queen. At the breaking out of the civil war Lord Arundel left the kingdom to attend upon the queen, and Holler was left to shift for himself. From some unknown cause he soon became obnoxious - — to the ruling powers, probably from his general acquaintance with the friends of his patron, who were mostly royalists, with some of whom lie was made prisoner at the surrender of Basing House, In Hampshire, In 1615. Millar however having some time after obtained his liberty,
went over to the continent to the Earl of Arundel, who then resided at Antwerp, where he remained for several yeArs, copying from that portion of his patron's collection which had been carried there, and in working for printsellers and publishers. It was at this time that his portraits from Leonardo da Vinci, Mihail", and other great masters, made their appearance. In 1652 lie returned to England, and worked incessantly till the time of hi. death. Tho plates by him in the first and second volumes of the old edition of Dugdale's Monasticon; in Dugdale's ' History of St. Paul's,' and in his 'Survey of Warwickshire,' sufficiently prove Ilia industry. It would be endless to enumerate all the subjects lie engraved. A map of Donegal, in Ireland, is one of the rarest. Ill 1669 he was rent to Tangier, in Africa, in quality of his majesty's designer, to take the various prospects there of the garrison, town, fortifications, and surrounding country : these he subsequently engraved. Several of the drawings taken et this time are preserved in the British Museum. They were purchased, together with numerous fine proofs of Holler's best works, from his widow, by Sir Hans Sloane. Holler's latest works are probably the plates in Thoroton's 'Antiquities of Nottinghamshire; some of which remain unfinished. When Holler was in his seventieth year he had the misfortune to have an execution at his house in Gardiner's Lane, Westminster: he desired only the liberty of dying in his bed, and that he might not bo removed to any other prison than his grave. Whether this was granted to him or not is uncertain, but he died March 28th, 1677, and, as appears from the parish-regiater of St. Margaret's, was buried in New Chapel-yard, near the place of his death. No monument was erected to his memory. Oros& from information he received from Oldys, has recorded that Holier used to work for the booksellers at fourpence an hour, always having an hour-glass placed before him ; and that he was so scru pulously exact, that even whilst talking, though with the persons for whom he was working, and upon their own business, he constantly laid down the glass to prevent the sand from running. His works, according to Vet tue's catalogue of them, amount to nearly 2400 print& In drawing the human figure Holler was defective ; and he failed in a few plates which he attempted to execute with the graver only.