NETSCHER (Gaspar), an eminent painter, born
at Prague in Bohemia in 1639. His father dying
while he was an engineer in the Polish service, his mother
was obliged, on account of her religion, suddenly to
leave Prague with her three sons. When she had
proceeded three leagues, she stopped at a castle, which
being soon after besieged, two of her sons were starved
to death; but she herself found means to escape out of
the fortress by night, and to save her only remaining
child. Carrying him in her arms, she reached Arn-
heim in Guelderland, where she found means to sup-
port herself, and breed up her son. At length a doc-
tor of physic took young Netscher into his patronage,
with the view of giving him an education proper for a
physician: but Netscher's genius leading him to paint-
ing, he could not forbear scrawling out designs upon
the paper on which he wrote his themes; and it be-
ing found impossible to conquer his fondness for draw-
ing, he was sent to a glazier, who was the only person
in the town that understood drawing. Netscher soon
finding himself above receiving any farther assistance
from his master, was sent to Deventer, to a painter
named Terburg, who was an able artist and burgoma-
ster of the town; and having acquired under him a
great command of his pencil, went to Holland, where
he worked a long time for the dealers in pictures, who
paid him very little for his pieces, which they sold at
a high price. Disgusted at this ungenerous treatment,
he resolved to go to Rome, and for that purpose em-
barked on board a vessel bound for Bordeaux. But
his marrying in that city prevented his travelling into
Italy: and therefore, returning into Holland, he set-
tled at the Hague; where observing that portrait-paint-
ing was the most profitable, he applied himself solely
to it, and acquired such reputation, that there is not a
considerable family in Holland that has not some of
his portraits; and besides, the greatest part of the for-
eign ministers could not think of quitting Holland
without carrying with them one of Netscher's portraits,
whence they are to be seen all over Europe. He died
at the Hague, in 1684; leaving two sons, Theodore
and Constantine Netscher, both of them good portrait-
painters.