Possible portraits Portraits of Shakespeare

1 possible portraits

1.1 made during shakespeare s lifetime

1.1.1 gallery: portraits claimed of shakespeare painted life


1.2 made within living memory of shakespeare

possible portraits

there several portraits dated 17th century have been claimed represent shakespeare, although in each sitter either unidentified or identification shakespeare debatable.

probably made during shakespeare s lifetime

the chandos portrait. portrait attributed john taylor, , dated 1610. in 2006, national portrait gallery published report authored tarnya cooper saying painting real claim have been done life. cobbe portrait had not been discovered @ time, cooper has since confirmed opinion. name arose once in possession of duke of chandos.
the chess players attributed karel van mander. identified in 1916 image of ben jonson , shakespeare playing chess. scholars consider pure speculation, claim revived in 2004 jeffrey netto, argued chess game symbolises known professional rivalry between these figures in terms of battle of wits .
the cobbe portrait: in 2009, stanley wells , shakespeare birthplace trust announced believe painting, has been in possession of cobbe family since 18th century, portrait of shakespeare drawn life. portrait thought have belonged shakespeare s patron, henry wriothesley, 3rd earl of southampton, , have been copied artist created painting known janssen portrait, had been claimed depict shakespeare. tarnya cooper, 17th-century art specialist @ national portrait gallery, argues both paintings depict thomas overbury.


the grafton portrait unknown artist of man age, shakespeare s, 24 in 1588. otherwise there no reason believe shakespeare except compatibility faces of other leading contenders. belongs john rylands university library manchester.
a man clasping hand cloud, nicholas hilliard dated 1588. identified shakespeare leslie hotson in book shakespeare hilliard (1977). skeptical scholars believe unlikely. roy strong suggested lord thomas howard, first earl of suffolk. (national portrait gallery, london)


the sanders portrait. has label attached identifying shakespeare , stating painted in 1603. new scientific tests on label , oak panel suggest dates shakespeare s lifetime, which, if true, make authentic image of shakespeare. attributed family tradition 1 john sanders, or possibly brother thomas, believed have been scene painter william shakespeare s theatre company. identification has been queried on grounds subject appears young 39-year-old shakespeare in 1603 , 23 april birth date on label reflects conventional date adopted in 18th century, not accurate. inscription on label likeness taken has been criticised not contemporary formulation.


the zuccari portrait. life-size oval portrait painted on wooden panel. owned richard cosway, attributed federico zuccari, artist contemporary shakespeare. no longer attributed him, nor there evidence identify shakespeare; painted during lifetime , may depict poet.

gallery: portraits claimed of shakespeare painted life










































































probably made within living memory of shakespeare

the chesterfield portrait, attributed borsseler, , earliest known aggrandized image of shakespeare.

in decades after shakespeare s death number of portraits made based on existing images or living memory. important of these are:

the soest portrait, painted gerard soest. painting first described george vertue, attributed peter lely , stated painted man said shakespeare. owned thomas wright of covent garden in 1725 when engraved john simon , attributed soest. painted in late 1660s, after restoration permitted reopening of london theatres.
the chesterfield portrait, dated 1660-1670, possibly painted dutch painter pieter borsseler, worked in england in second half of 17th century. title derives fact owned earl of chesterfield. assumed based on chandos portrait, evidence chandos accepted depiction of shakespeare within living memory of writer.
the marshall portrait. john benson s 1640 edition of shakespeare s poems included engraving of shakespeare william marshall. stylised , reversed version of droeshout portrait.




^ chandos portrait . npg.org.uk. retrieved 2011-12-10. 
^ shakespeare portrait life here?; dramatist sat picture of him dutch artist owned new york family, declares expert , new york times, 12 march 1916.
^ jeffrey netto, intertextuality , chess motif: shakespeare, middleton, greenaway in michele marrapodi, shakespeare, italy , intertextuality, manchester university press, 2004, p.218
^ tarnya cooper (ed), searching shakespeare, national portrait gallery , yale center british art, yale university press, 2006, pp. 68; 70
^ katz, gregory. bard? portrait said shakespeare unveiled. associated press, 9 march 2009.
^ lifetime portrait of shakespeare discovered . retrieved 2009-03-09. 
^ khan, urmee (2009-03-09). william shakespeare painting unveiled . daily telegraph. london. retrieved 2009-03-09. 
^ higgins, charlotte (2009-03-11). find mind s construction in face: great shakespeare debate . guardian. london. retrieved 2010-05-22. 
^ npg , image
^ [1] : nicholas hilliard: man clasping hand cloud
^ corbeil, marie-claude (2008-12-23). scientific examination of sanders portrait of william shakespeare . canadian conservation institute. retrieved 2013-12-27. 
^ sanders portrait . canadian adaptations of shakespeare project. retrieved 2011-12-10. 
^ jonathan bate in shakespeare s face, stephanie nolen, london: piatkus, 2003, isbn 0-7499-2391-1, p. 307.
^ stanley wells, dictionary of shakespeare, oxford university press, 2005, p.28.