Portraits of Shakespeare

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There is no evidence that a portrait or pictures were ever commissioned by Shakespeare, and there is no any written description of his physical appearance. The following pictures (except the first three images) were all apparently made after his death.

Contents 1 Probably made within thirty years of his death at the latest 2 Later works 3 Twentieth century 4 Notes 5 External links

[edit] Probably made within thirty years of his death at the latest

• Nicholas Hilliard: A possible William Shakespeare portrait (below): Man Clasping Hand from a Cloud, dated 1588. While some think that the sitter is the young Shakespeare, skeptical scholars believe it is somebody else like Lord Thomas Howard, first Earl of Suffolk. (National Portrait Gallery, London)^[1]

• The Grafton Portrait by an unknown artist of a man whose age, like Shakespeare's, was 24 in 1588. Otherwise there is no reason to believe it is Shakespeare except for a certain compatibility with the faces of other leading contenders. Belongs to the John Rylands University Library Manchester.^[2]

• The Sanders portrait. According to the new scientific tests and the genealogical evidence, and some documents this may be a possibly true image of Shakespeare painted in his lifetime (about 1603). It is attributed by a family tradition to one John Sanders or possibly his brother Thomas.^[3]

• Isaac Oliver: "Unknown Melancholy Man". Some scholars have speculated that the sitter is Shakespeare.

• The Chandos portrait. This portrait is attributed to Joseph Taylor, and dated to about 1610. The National Portrait Gallery, London, who own it, say it is the only painting with any real claim to have been done from the life. The name arose as it was once in the possession of the Duke of Chandos. It is currently on loan to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. ^[4]

• Zucchero portrait. A life-size oval portrait painted on a wooden panel Attributed to the Italian painter Federigo Zucchero (1543-1609) who died in the same year as Shakespeare. (London, National Portrait Gallery)

• The bust in the choir of Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-on-Avon. This half-length statue on his memorial must have been erected within six years after Shakespeare’s death in 1616, it is believed to have been commissioned by the poet’s son-in-law, Dr John Hall, and must have been seen by the wife of Shakespeare. Like the Droeshout it is a work of low artistic quality. It is the earliest image unquestionably intended as an image of Shakespeare. It is believed that the bust was made by a Flemish artist Garratt Johnson (Gerard Janssen).

• Droeshout print. An engraving by Martin Droeshout as frontispiece to the collected works of Shakespeare (the First Folio), printed in 1622 and published in 1623.

• The Flower portrait. It is the earliest painting known definitely to be of Shakespeare. It was probably taken not from life but from the Droeshout engraving by an unknown artist. Named for its owner, Sir Desmond Flower, who donated it to the Shakespeare Museum in 1911.

• The Stratford portrait. The picture is so called as it is in Stratford. The picture was owned by a Mr Hunt who was a town-clerk of Stratford.

• The Soest Portrait. (Also called Zoust portrait) The painting was owned by Thomas Wright of Covent Garden in 1725 when it was engraved by John Simon. It was painted by Soest about 21 years after Shakespeare's death and it was primarily based on his imagination. (London, National Portrait Gallery)

• Marshall portrait. In 1640 an authorised edition of Shakespeare's poems included an engraved picture of Shakespeare engraved by William Marshall. This is a stylised copy, reversed version of the Droeshout portrait. (London, National Portrait Gallery)

[edit] Later works

• The Faithorne Portrait. The Droeshout engraving was copied by William Faithorne for the frontispiece of the 1655 edition of The Rape of Lucrece. (London, National Portrait Gallery)

• Louis Francois Roubiliac 1695 - 1762): Portrait of William Shakespeare. Early copy of "Chandos" portrait. Oil on canvas.(The Government Art Collection).

• George Vertue: Portrait of William Shakespeare, probably after John Taylor,

engraving made in 1719.

• John Goldar: Portrait of William Shakespeare probably after John Taylor

line engraving, (published 1785.)

• Angelica Kauffmann: The Birth of Shakespeare (c. 1770)

• Thomas Banks: Relief sculpture (1789) Originally placed above the entrance to John Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery , and re-erected in New Place Garden, Stratford in 1870.

• William Blake, Portrait of Shakespeare (c. 1800-1803)^[5]

• Robert Cooper: William Shakespeare colour stipple engraving, (circa 1800-1825)

• G.F. Storm: William Shakespeare, mezzotint, (mid 19th century)

• Richard Austin Artlett: William Shakespeare: line and stipple engraving, (circa 1850-1873)

[edit] Twentieth century

• Edward Hopper, Shakespeare at Dusk oil painting on canvas (1935)

• Andy Warhol: Shakespeare, silk screen and acryl (1962)

• Rafał Olbiński: Shakespeare in Central Park, Festival poster (1994)

• Exhibition poster of Victoria and Albert Museum ^[6]

• Mirko Ilić: Shakespeare, Illustration in the New York Times, in its Sunday book review section (1996)

• István Orosz: Anamorphic portrait and theatre (2000):^{[7] [8]}
• Milton Glaser: 25 Shakespeare Faces, Theater poster (2003)^[9]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ [1] : Nicholas Hilliard: Man Clasping Hand from a Cloud
2. ^ NPG and Image
3. ^ The Sanders portrait [2]
4. ^ Chandos portrait, NPG
5. ^ Blake: Shakespeare [3]
6. ^ V&A Museum poster
7. ^ Anamorphosis with double meanings: viewed in the traditional way the Swan Theatre...
8. ^ ...and the same picture viewed from a narrow angle : the portrait of Shakespeare
9. ^ Milton Glaser: Shakespeare, theatre poster [4]

[edit] External links

• The 42 images in the NPG