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William Shakespeare (formerly known as)

1827
Not on view
Engraved to illustrate Wivell's "Inquiry into the History of the Shakespeare Portraits" (1827), this image is based on a painting then attributed to Cornelius Johnson (or Janssen), owned by Charles Jennens and believed to represent Shakespeare at the age of forty. That worked passed from Jennens, to the Duke of Hamilton, Duke of Somerset, then Lady Ramsden at Bulstrode Park, near Reading, before entering the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC. Today, the "Janssen Portrait" it is no longer believed to portray Shakespeare and has been retitled "Portrait of an Unknown Gentleman, possibly Thomas Overbury" (see also 17.3.756-1714).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: William Shakespeare (formerly known as)
  • Series/Portfolio: Wivell's Inquiry into the History of the Shakespeare Portraits
  • Engraver: Thomas Wright (British, Birmingham 1792–1849 London)
  • Artist: After Anonymous, Anglo-Netherlandish, 17th century
  • Artist: Once said to be after Cornelius Janssen (British, London, baptised 1593–1661 Utrecht)
  • Sitter: Once said to portray William Shakespeare (British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564–1616 Stratford-upon-Avon)
  • Publisher: Abraham Wivell I (British, London 1786–1849 Birmingham)
  • Date: 1827
  • Medium: Stipple engraving on chine collé
  • Dimensions: Chine collé: 9 7/8 × 6 3/4 in. (25.1 × 17.1 cm)
    Plate: 10 1/8 × 7 1/16 in. (25.7 × 17.9 cm)
    Sheet: 11 13/16 × 8 3/4 in. (30 × 22.2 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.3.756-2422
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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