John de Critz the Elder

John de Critz or John Decritz (1551/2 – 14 March 1642 (buried)) was one of a number of painters of Flemish and Dutch origin active at the English royal court during the reigns of James I of England and Charles I of England. He held the post of Serjeant Painter to the king from 1603, at first jointly with Leonard Fryer and from 1610 jointly with Robert Peake the Elder.

De Critz was born in Antwerp. His Flemish parents brought him as a boy to England from Antwerp, during the Habsburg persecution of Dutch Protestants, and apprenticed him to the artist and poet Lucas de Heere, also from Antwerp, who may have taught members of the Gheeraerts family and Robert Peake as well. De Critz established himself as an independent artist by the late 1590s, and in 1603 he was appointed serjeant-painter to the king.

De Critz's work, traced through his bills, also entailed the restoration of decorative detail, the painting and guilding of royal coaches and barges, and individual tasks such as painting the signs and letters on a royal sun-dial. He also painted "bravely" for court masques, dramatic spectaculars which required elaborate scenery and scenic effects.

De Critz's father was Troilus de Critz, a goldsmith from Antwerp. John de Critz's sister Magdalena married Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, another Flemish court painter, who may also have been a pupil of de Heere. De Critz was succeeded as Serjeant Painter by his son John the Younger (b. before 1599), who had been involved in the work for many years—his father died at about 90. John the Younger was killed shortly afterwards in the fighting at Oxford. Other painters from the family include John the Elder's sons Emmanuel (1608–65), who also worked for the court, and Thomas (1607–53), to whom many portraits of their Tradescant relations are now attributed. Thomas also worked for the Crown between 1629 and 1637. Oliver de Critz (1626–51) was a son of John the Younger by his third wife; his portrait in the Ashmolean Museum may be a self-portrait.

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