Nicolaes de Bruyn
Flemish, 1571 – 1656
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Nicolaes de Bruyn was a Flemish engraver, who after training in Antwerp was active in the Dutch Republic.
De Bruyn was the son of the sugar manufacturer Jan de Bruyn and nephew of the engraver Abraham de Bruyn. He was the brother-in-law of Jan van Londerseel, another Flemish engraver who would move to Rotterdam. He was trained in the art of engraving by his uncle Abraham. He did not follow he style of his master, either in the style of his execution, or in the size of his plates. He appears to have studied and to have formed his style from the works of Lucas van Leyden.
His compositions are abundant, but he lacked taste in the selection of his forms. He finished his plates very neatly with the burin. There is not much effect in his print as he was not skilled in chiaroscuro. Notwithstanding this defect, which was very general in the period in which he lived, his works possess considerable merit. He worked in Rotterdam from 1617 onwards, and he died there in 1656. He signed his plates sometimes with his initials N. de B., and sometimes with a monogram.
