Nicholas Lyzarde or Lizard (died April 1571) was an English sergeant-painter.

Biography

Lyzarde served as painter to the court in the time of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

, and as second painter under

Anthony Toto Anthony Toto or "Antony", real name Antonio di Nunziato d'Antonio (1498–1554), was an Italian painter and architect at the English court. He was a Florentine, and a pupil of Ridolfo Ghirlandajo. He came to England about 1519, and was naturali ...

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

and

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

. He attended the funeral of Edward VI. His work at

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

in 1553 included "painting and trimming" the ceiling of the withdrawing chamber. Mary appointed him as a

Sergeant Painter The Serjeant Painter was an honourable and lucrative position as court painter with the English monarch. It carried with it the prerogative of painting and gilding all of the King's residences, coaches, banners, etc. and it grossed over £1,000 ...

, with a fee of £10 a year levied on the customs. In 1556 Lyzarde presented the queen as a New Year's Day gift "a table painted with a maundy." He decorated and gilded fountains at

Greenwich Palace Greenwich ( , , ) is an area in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian ...

and

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

. The Windsor fountain included a dragon, with a giffin, a hart and a greyhound holding the royal heraldic badges, and the arms of England and Spain were displayed on the top of the structure. Some of the stonework was painted "lead colour" to match the plumbing. Lyzarde worked on the decorations at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

for the funeral of Queen Mary and may have painted the effigy used at the ceremony.Sarah Duncan, ''Mary I: Gender, Power, and Ceremony in the Reign of England's First Queen'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), p. 173: Philip Lindley, 'Mary Tudor', Anthony Harvey & Richard Mortimer, ''The Funeral Effigies of Westminster Abbey'' (Boydell, 1994), p. 55. He continued to work for

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

, and in 1558 presented her on New Year's Day "a table painted of the history of Ashuerus," receiving a gilt cruse (a kind of cup) in return. Lyzarde died in April 1571, and was buried on 5 April in the church of

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...

, London. In his will, dated 14 February 1571, he mentions five sons and four daughters, and also his wife Margaret.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyzarde, Nicholas Year of birth unknown 1571 deaths 16th-century English painters English male painters