William Shakespeare (formerly known as)
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).
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