Infant Shakespeare Attended by Nature and the Passions
William Shakespeare|George Romney|John & Josiah Boydell|Benjamin Smith
1799 · Stipple engraving; early trial state · Drawings and Prints
Romney conceived this secular adoration to illuminate Shakespeare’s genius. It focuses on the baby poet blessed by cloaked Nature and watched by figures that embody human emotions. Joy and Sorrow act as chief attendants, while Love, Hatred, and Jealousy watch from the left and Anger, Envy, and Fear stand at right—the group a reminder of the mature playwright’s astounding range. The engraver created this proof to check his progress, with some areas still undeveloped and the stippling at an early stage. When complete, the print introduced a folio-size set of engravings based on paintings shown at the publisher John Boydell’s Shakespeare Gallery in London’s Pall Mall.
- Artist
- William Shakespeare|George Romney|John & Josiah Boydell|Benjamin Smith
- Date
- 1799
- Medium
- Stipple engraving; early trial state
- Department
- Drawings and Prints
- Credit line
- The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949