William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare|Jacob Houbraken|J. and P. Knapton|John Taylor|Thomas Birch

1747 · Etching and engraving · Drawings and Prints

Engraved by Houbraken for "Birch's Heads," this portrait shows Shakespeare wearing a simple jacket and soft white collar with open ties as in the Chandos portrait of ca. 1610 (National Portrait Gallery, London). The print elevates its subject by adding a simulated stone frame and a cluster of symbolic objects—a lyre, mask, trumpet, laurel leaves, and dagger—references to Shakespeare's accomplishments as a poet and dramatist, and to his posthumous fame.

Artist

William Shakespeare|Jacob Houbraken|J. and P. Knapton|John Taylor|Thomas Birch

Date

1747

Medium

Etching and engraving

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917