William Shakespeare (formerly known as)

Anonymous, Anglo-Netherlandish, 17th century|Cornelius Janssen|William Shakespeare|Thomas Wright|Abraham Wivell I

1827 · Stipple engraving on chine collé · Drawings and Prints

William Shakespeare (formerly known as) — Anonymous, Anglo-Netherlandish, 17th century|Cornelius Janssen|William Shakespeare|Thomas Wright|Abraham Wivell I

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).

Artist: Anonymous, Anglo-Netherlandish, 17th century|Cornelius Janssen|William Shakespeare|Thomas Wright|Abraham Wivell I
Date: 1827
Medium: Stipple engraving on chine collé
Department: Drawings and Prints
Credit line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917