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Portraits of Shakespeare
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There is no firm evidence that William Shakespeare ever commissioned a portrait or pictures, and there is no written description of his physical appearance. One undoubted portrait appears on the cover of the posthumous First Folio (1623) and several other paintings from the period have been argued to represent him.
Possible portraits
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There are several portraits dated to the 17th century that have been claimed to represent Shakespeare, although in each the sitter is either unidentified or the identification with Shakespeare is debatable.
*The Chandos portrait.
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Encyclopedia
There is no firm evidence that William Shakespeare ever commissioned a portrait or pictures, and there is no written description of his physical appearance. One undoubted portrait appears on the cover of the posthumous First Folio (1623) and several other paintings from the period have been argued to represent him.
Portraits clearly identified as Shakespeare
There are two representations of Shakespeare that are unambiguously identified as him, although both may be posthumous.
- 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 bust in Shakespeare's funerary monument, 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 Shakespeare's widow Anne. It is believed that the bust was made by the Flemish artist Gerard Johnson. Like the Droeshout it is a work of low artistic quality.
Possible portraits
]]
There are several portraits dated to the 17th century that have been claimed to represent Shakespeare, although in each the sitter is either unidentified or the identification with Shakespeare is debatable.
Probably made during Shakespeare's lifetime
- 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)
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Probably made within thirty years of Shakespeare's death at the latest
- Zucchero portrait. A life-size oval portrait painted on a wooden panel Attributed to the Italian painter Federico Zuccari. (London, National Portrait Gallery)
- The Flower portrait. Once considered the earliest painting known definitely
be of Shakespeare, this painting was shown in a 2005 National Portrait Gallery investigation to be two centuries more recent than Shakespeare. It appears to be based on the Droeshout engraving. 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)
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.)
- 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.
- 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)
20th century
- Mirko Ilic: Shakespeare, Illustration in the New York Times, in its Sunday book review section (1996)
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