William Shakespeare

1856

Not on view

Buttre engraved this image of Shakespeare wearing a simple jacket and soft white collar for a 19th century American publication, basing the image on an 18th century engraving by Houbraken (see 17.3.756-2423). The latter had itself had been derived from the Chandos portrait of ca. 1610 (National Portrait Gallery, London), and the present work demonstrates how printmakers relied on established sources as they supplied the continued demand for likenesses of the Bard.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

References

Title: William Shakespeare
Engraver: John Chester Buttre (American, Auburn, New York 1821–1893 Ridgewood, New York)
Artist: After Jacob Houbraken (Dutch, Dordrecht 1698–1780 Amsterdam)
Sitter: William Shakespeare (British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564–1616 Stratford-upon-Avon)
Date: 1856
Medium: Steel engraving
Dimensions: Sheet: 7 3/8 × 4 3/4 in. (18.7 × 12 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Bequest of Mary Sheldon Lyon, 1947
Object Number: 47.95.2
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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