Wenceslaus, a celebrated engraver, was born in 1607 at Prague, in Bohemia. His parents, who were in good circumstances, intended him for the law, but they were ruined by the capture of Prague in the course of the Thirty Years' War; and the young Hollar, who had already given evidence of artistic skill, was apprenticed to Matthew Marian, a pupil of Rubens and Vandyck, to learn engraving. He was only eighteen years old when he published his first pieces, consisting of prints of the Virgin, the Ecce Homo, and some other pieces. Leaving Prague in his twenty-first year, he began a wandering life through Germany, taking views of the chief towns and of the most striking scenery of the Danube, Rhine, and other streams, which brought him great fame, but no regular employment. Even at this early period of his life his pieces were known for the exquisitely delicate touch and beauty of finish which they displayed. Hollar's fortunes were at a very low ebb, when he fell in with the Earl of Arundel (then on his way through Germany on an embassy to the Emperor Ferdinand II.), who attached him to his service. Soon after reaching England with his patron he was appointed to instruct the Prince of Wales in drawing; and in 1640 published his Ornatus Muliebris Anglicanus, or the several habits of Englishwomen from the Nobility to the Countrywoman, as they are in these times, a highly valuable and beautiful work. When the Civil War broke out Hollar was once more left to his own resources; and having incurred the suspicions of the parliament, he was thrown into prison. After a short confinement he made his way over to Antwerp, where Lord Arundel was then residing, and where he wrought quietly and assiduously for print-sellers and publishers during several years. His pieces never having fetched prices at all proportionate to their merits he was obliged, in order to make a living at all, to put a value on his time. He fixed his tariff at fourpence an hour, which he marked by a sandglass. So exact was he, that when any one, even his employers, came to speak with him about the picture on hand, he always turned down his glass, charging payment only for the time he was actually engaged with his burin. It was in this humble way that he produced his fine engravings after Da Vinci and the great masters of portrait-painting. On returning to England after the Restoration, Hollar worked with the same unflagging industry, and with no more profitable result, than in his younger days. His plates in Dugdale's Monasticon and History of St Paul's attest his diligence. In 1669 he was commissioned by Charles II. to take plans and perspective drawings of Tangier and its fortifications, which, on his return to England, he engraved. His last known engravings are his unfinished illustrations of Throto's Antiquities of Nottinghamshire. These and other works brought the artist to his seventieth year, but without the independence he had struggled for all his life. On his very deathbed an execution was served upon his house. His last words were a petition to be allowed to die in his bed, and that he might not be removed to any other prison but his grave. It is not known whether this prayer was granted. The day of his death was the 28th March 1677. According to Vertue's Catalogue Hollar's works amount in all to about 2400 pieces. The best of these possess great spirit, lightness, and freedom of touch, combined with the most scrupulous accuracy. His delineations of still life in particular are admirable, but his figure pieces are generally not very happy.