Mierevelt was the son of a goldsmith, who apprenticed him to the copperplate engraver J. Wierix. Anthonie van Blocklandt (called Montfoort), who had seen and admired two of Mierevelt's early engravings, invited him to enter his school at Utrecht. Mierevelt remained at Utrecht until the death of Montfoort (1583) and then settled at Delft. Devoting himself at first to still life, Mierevelt eventually took up portraiture. His portraits, usually small in size, are sincere in characterization and restrained in composition; his drawing is severe and the colour harmonious. The many commissions entrusted to him necessitated the employment of numerous assistants, by whom hundreds of portraits were turned out. Comparatively few of the 2,000 or more portraits (a contemporary attributes 10,000) that bear his name are wholly his handiwork.