Does anyone know what shakespeare looked like

While the painting's provenance and painting style point to its origin in Shakespeare's time, there is no definitive proof of the sitter's identity, according to Tarnya Cooper, author of Searching for Shakespeare and curatorial director of London's National Portrait Gallery.

Then there's the Cobbe portrait below. Once owned by 18th-century Anglican Archbishop Charles Cobbe, it allegedly came to his family through the great-granddaughter of one of Shakespeare's patrons, the Earl of Southampton. Modern testing of the painting shows that it was made after ; the fashions depicted suggest it could have been painted as late as The unknown artist could have captured Shakespeare in life, between the ages of 31 and 46, although the figure appears somewhat younger than middle-aged.

Cobbe descendants have argued that the work is the only existing life portrait of the Bard, but art historian Sir Roy Strong described that as " codswallop " translation: nonsense. The British Library www. The Chandos Portrait. Droeshout Portrait. Cobbe Portrait. The Flower Portrait. The Kite Portrait. Holy Trinity Monument. Shakespeare in his Study.

More on Shakespeare:. Shakespeare Festival A collection of TV, radio and online broadcasts from around the BBC celebrating the th anniversary of arguably the greatest ever playwright. From the experts:. Was Shakespeare a genius?

A version of this portrait by Cornelius Janssen belongs to the Shakespeare Folger Library of Washington DC, although the distinctive receding hairline was painted on later. Status: possible William Shakespeare portrait known as the Cobbe painting.

Status: doubtful William Shakespeare portrait attributed to Sanders. The Soest Painting This highly regarded portrait was painted at least thirty years after Shakespeare died, possibly after the theatres reopened following the Restoration, by yet another Dutch artist Gerard Soest.

Status: definite but not from life. William Shakespeare portrait by Gerald Soest. Garrick was the first actor to be buried in Westminster Abbey, beneath the statue of him posing as Shakespeare. A copy of this is in the British Library, having been moved from the British Museum when the Library was built twenty years ago. Shakespeare was succeeded by Michael Faraday, then Edward Elgar.

William Shakespeare statue at the British Library in London. I specialise in tours themed on cars,…. Your email address will not be published. The famous film director Alfred Hitchcock lived half of his eighty years in London and half in America. Among these is the Chandos portrait, which shows a dashing, bohemian young fellow with a gold earring — the Shakespeare we want to believe in.

Of the numerous possible portraits, though, only one really captured me. Being a prequel, the book features Lenox in his early, scrappy, hungry days in London.

The Sanders portrait became my model. In it, the sitter wears a simple shirt and an open collar; its allure lies not in his garments but in his obvious intelligence, wit, curiosity.