Nicasius Roussel, Nicasius Rousseel or Nicasius Russell (died 1646) was a Flemish goldsmith, jewelry merchant, draftsman, engraver (printmaker) and court artist who worked in London for James I, Anne of Denmark, and Charles I.Nicasius Roussel at the Netherlands Institute for Art History Life Nicasius Roussel was born in Bruges and came to London in 1567 or 1573. He had family connections with Isaac Oliver and Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger.Diana Scarisbrick, "Anne of Denmark's Jewellery Inventory", Archaeologia, vol. CIX (1991), pp. 193–237, at p. 201. He became a naturalized citizen of England in April 1608.William Arthur Shaw, Letters of denization and acts of naturalization for aliens in England and Ireland (London, 1911), p. 10.
He made seven ebony pedestals and portraits of men cast in plaster of paris for Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales.Frederick Madden, Issues of the Exchequer': James I (London, 1836), p. 316 citing TNA AO 1/2021/3.
Nicasius Roussel made 12 gold pieces for a chain with knots set with sparks of diamonds for Anne of Denmark. The chain may have used as a prop in The Masque of Beauty.Thomas W. Ross, Expenses for Ben Jonson's The Masque of Beauty, The Bulletin of the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association, 23:4 (December 1969), p. 171.
He dismantled and melted down jewellery belonging to Anna of Denmark in 1609, 1610, and 1611 to make gold plate and aglets, some set with diamonds, and buttons set with rubies and pearls.Diana Scarisbrick, 'Anne of Denmark's Jewellery Inventory', Archaeologia, vol. CIX (1991), pp. 193–237, at pp. 218, 228, 232-3. One of the old jewels had already lost a diamond in 1603 to a jewel for king's hat made in the shape of the letter "I" by John Spilman and William Herrick.HMC Laing Manuscripts at the University of Edinburgh, vol. 1 (London, 1914), p. 96: Diana Scarisbrick, 'Anne of Denmark's Jewellery Inventory', Archaeologia, 109 (1991), p. 222. This "I" or "J" was sent to Spain in 1623.Calendar State Papers Domestic: 1618-1623 (London, 1858), p. 523 citing TNA SP14/139/63.
He sold a portrait of a young man by George Pencz to Prince Charles. This painting is still in the Royal Collection.GEORG PENCZ (C. 1500-1550), 'Young Man in Black', RCIN 402886
In 1623 a book was published in London under the title De Grotesco. Per utilis atq omnibus quibus pertinebit valde necessari Liber per Nicasius Rousseel ornatissimo, generosissimo atq variarum artium peritissimo viro Domino G Heriot. It contained prints engraved by Johan Barra (or Bara, or Jan Barra) after designs by Roussel and was dedicated to the Scottish goldsmith to the court and philanthropist George Heriot.The Print in Stuart Britain, p. 266. Each page consists of a frame filled with grotesques composed of human masks and animal and bird monsters attached to plant forms.Charles Oman: Nicaise Rousel and the Mostyn Flagons. In: Leeds Arts Calendar 83 (1978), pp. 4–8 In 1644 a Dutch language version of 12 of the plates was published in Amsterdam by Claes Jansz. Visscher under the title Seer aerdige / GROTISSEN / dienstich / alle die de Teyckenkonst hanteren / getekent door / Nicasius Rouseel / gedruckt bÿ / CJVisscher. A.o / 1644. This set was subsequently re-issued probably by Nicolaes Visscher II around 1680 and by Joannes de Ram in 1684.Seer aerdige / GROTISSEN at the British Museum
Family Nicasius Roussel married Jacomina Wils on 21 April 1590. He remarried after the death of his wife to Clara Johnson in the Dutch church on 27 November 1604. His second wife was reportedly the sister of the painter Cornelius Johnson.Simon Swnfen Jervis, "Ornament and Design: A Neglected Early Seventeeth-Century Album", Antiquaries Journal, 105 (2025), pp. 70–71.
His daughter Elizabeth married John Symcotts of Iseworth.Visitation of Middlesex (Salisbury, 1820), p. 18. His son Nicasius was a clockmaker. Another son named Theodore (born in 1614) was a painter, who produced copies of portraits by Anthony van Dyck.
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