CHRISTIAN, one of the greatest mathematicians and astronomers of the 17th century, was the son of Constantine Huygens, lord of Zuylichem, who had served three successive princes of Orange in the quality of secretary; and was born at the Hague, in 1629. He discovered from his infancy an extraordinary fondness for the mathematics; in a little time made a great progress in them; and perfected himself in those studies under the famous professor Schooten, at Leyden. In 1649, he went to Holstein and Denmark, in the retinue of Henry count of Nassau; and was extremely desirous of going to Sweden, in order to see Des Cartes, but the count's short stay in Denmark would not permit him. He travelled into France and England; was, in 1663, made a member of the Royal Society; and, upon his return into France, M. Colbert, being informed of his merit, settled a considerable pension upon him to engage him to fix at Paris; to which Mr Huygens consented, and staid there from the year 1666 to 1681, where he was admitted a member of the Academy of Sciences. He loved a quiet and studious manner of life, and frequently retired into the country to avoid interruption, but did not contract that moroseness which is so frequently the effect of solitude and retirement. He was the first who discovered Saturn's ring, and a third satellite belonging to that planet, which had hitherto escaped the eyes of astronomers. He discovered the means of rendering clocks exact, by applying the pendulum, and rendering all its vibrations equal by the cycloid. He brought telescopes to perfection, made many other useful discoveries, and died at the Hague in 1695. Huyfum was the author of several excellent works. The principal of these are contained in two collections; the first of which was printed at Leyden in 1682, in quarto, under the title of Opera varia; and the second at Amsterdam in 1728, in two volumes quarto, entitled Opera religiosa.

Huyfum, the name of several Dutch painters; the most celebrated of whom was John, whose subjects were flowers, fruit, and landscapes. According to Mr Pilkington, this illustrious painter hath surprized all who have ever painted in that style; and his works excite as much surprise by their finishing as they excite admiration by their truth. He was born at Amsterdam in 1682, and was a disciple of Jutus van Huyfum his father. He set out in his profession with a most commendable principle, not so much to paint for the acquisition of money as of fame; and therefore he did not aim at expedition, but at delicacy, and, if possible, to arrive at perfection in his art. Having attentively studied the pictures of Mignon, and all other artists of distinction who had painted in his own style, he tried which manner would fittest lead him to imitate the lightness and singular beauties of each flower, fruit, or plant, and then fixed on a manner peculiar to himself, which seems almost inimitable. His pictures are finished with inconceivable truth; for he painted every thing after nature; and was so singularly exact, as to watch even the hour of the day in which his model appeared in its greatest perfection. By the judicious he was accounted to paint with greater freedom than Mignon or Breughel; with more tenderness and nature than Mario da Fiori, Michael Angelo di Campidoglio, or Segers; with more mellowness than De Heem, and greater force of colouring than Baptist. His reputation rose to such a height at last, that he fixed moderate prices on his works; so that none but princes, or those of princely fortunes, could pretend to become purchasers. Six of his paintings were sold at a public sale in Holland for prices that were almost incredible. One of them, a flower-piece, for fourteen hundred and fifty guilders; a fruit-piece for a thousand and five guilders; and the smaller pictures for nine hundred. The vast sums which Van Huyfum received for his works, caused him to redouble his endeavours to excel; no person was admitted into his room while he was painting, not even his brothers; and his method of mixing the tints, and preserving the lustre of his colours, was an impenetrable secret, which he never would disclose. Yet this conduct is certainly not to his honour, but rather an argument of a low mind, fearful of being equalled or surpassed. From the same principle, he would never take any disciples, except one lady, named Haverman; and he grew envious and jealous even of her merit. By several domestic disputes his temper became changed; he grew morose, fretful, and apt to withdraw himself from society. He had many enviers of his fame, which has ever been the severe lot of the most deserving in all professions; but he continued to work, and his reputation never diminished. It is universally agreed that he has excelled all who have painted fruit and flowers before him, by the confessed superiority of his touch, by the delicacy of his pencil, and by an amazing manner of finishing; nor does it appear probable that any future artist will become his competitor. The care which he took to purify his oils and prepare his colours, and the various experiments he made to discover the most lustrous and durable, are instances of extraordinary care and industry as well as capacity. From having observed some of his works that were perfectly finished, some only half finished, and others only begun, the principles by which he conducted himself may perhaps be discoverable. His cloths were prepared with the greatest care, and primed with white, with all possible purity, to prevent his colours from being obscured, as he laid them on very lightly. He glazed all other colours except the clear and transparent, not omitting even the white ones, till he found the exact tone of the colour; and over that he finished the forms, the lights, the shadows, and the reflections, which are all executed with precision and warmth, without dryness or negligence. The greatest truth, united with the greatest brilliancy, and a velvet softness on the surface of his objects, are visible in every part of his compositions; and as to his touch, it looks like the pencil of nature. Whenever he represented flowers placed in vases, he always painted those vases after some elegant model, and the bas-relief is as exquisitely finished as any of the other parts. Through the whole he shows a delicate composition, a fine harmony, and a most happy effect of light and shadow. Those pictures which he painted on a clear ground are preferred to others of his hand, as having greatest lustre, and as they demanded more care and exactness in the finishing; yet there are some on a darkish ground, in which appears rather more force and harmony. It is observed of him, that in the grouping of his flowers, he generally designed those which were brightest in the centre, and gradually decreased the force of his colour from the centre to the extremities. The birds nests and their eggs, the feathers, insects, and drops of dew, are expressed with the utmost truth, so as even to deceive the spectator. And yet, after all this merited and just praise, it cannot but be confessed, that sometimes his fruits appear like wax or ivory, without that peculiar softness and warmth which is constantly observable in nature. Beside his merit as a flower painter, he also painted landscapes with great applause. They are well composed; and although he had never seen Rome, he adorned his scenes with the noble remains of ancient magnificence which are in that city. His pictures in that style are well coloured, and every tree is distinguished by a touch that is proper for the leafing. The grounds are well broken, and disposed with taste and judgment; the figures are designed in the manner of Laurele, highly finished, and touched with a great deal of spirit; and through the whole composition the scene represents Italy, in the trees, the clouds, and the skies. He died in 1749, aged 67.