John Milton
(1608-1674), PoetSitter associated with 72 portraits
Milton is regarded as one of the greatest English poets and a master of political pamphleteering. Forceful and idealistic, he served the Commonwealth as Latin Secretary but was arrested upon the restoration of Charles II. The tragic circumstances of his life – a difficult first marriage, the death of two wives, and his eventual blindness in 1652 – are reflected in the occasional melancholy of his work. Milton is best known for Paradise Lost (1667; 1674), an epic poem of Heaven, Hell, God, Satan, and angels: ‘Of things invisible to mortal sight’. Intense cultural interest in the nature of blindness meant that artists and writers continued to be fascinated by his experience of blindness in the Romantic and Victorian periods.
by George Vertue, after William Faithorne
line engraving, published 1750
NPG D30116
after Unknown artist
etching, possibly late 18th century
NPG D28618
after William Faithorne
ink and wash, late 18th to early 19th century
NPG D30108
by John Sebastian Miller (formerly Johann Sebastian Müller), after William Faithorne
line engraving, published 1770
NPG D30115
by Francesco Bartolozzi, after William Faithorne
line engraving, published 1779
NPG D30118
by Giovanni Battista Cipriani
etching, published 1780
NPG D27289
by Giovanni Battista Cipriani, after Cornelius Johnson (Cornelius Janssen van Ceulen)
line engraving, 1780 (1618)
NPG D27946
by Giovanni Battista Cipriani, after William Faithorne
etching, 1780
NPG D30111
by Giovanni Battista Cipriani, after William Faithorne
etching, 1780
NPG D30112
by Giovanni Battista Cipriani, after Cornelius Johnson (Cornelius Janssen van Ceulen)
line engraving, 1780 (1618)
NPG D38830
by Giovanni Battista Cipriani, after William Faithorne
etching, published 1780 (1760)
NPG D14320
'John Milton and his two daughters' (Deborah Milton; Mary Milton; John Milton)
by Benjamin Smith, published by John Boydell, published by Josiah Boydell, published by George Nicol, after George Romney
stipple engraving, published 4 June 1795
NPG D38839
by and published for George Quinton, published by William Stevenson, sold by John Boydell, after Pieter van der Plas
stipple engraving, published 1 August 1797
NPG D30117
by and published for George Quinton, published by William Stevenson, sold by John Boydell, after Pieter van der Plas
stipple engraving, published 1 August 1797
NPG D18772
by Harding
watercolour and gouache, early 19th century
NPG D27290
after William Marshall
line engraving, circa 1800 (1645)
NPG D5263
by William Holl Sr, after William Faithorne
stipple engraving, published 1819
NPG D30113
published by William Darton, after William Faithorne
stipple engraving, published 1822
NPG D30114
by Charles Pye, after Cornelius Johnson (Cornelius Janssen van Ceulen)
line engraving, published March 1823
NPG D38833
by Henry Cousins, after Frederick Newenham
coloured mezzotint, mid 19th century
NPG D5684
by Carl August Deis, after Frederick Newenham
mezzotint, mid 19th century
NPG D5685
by James Faed the Elder, published by Henry Graves & Co, after John Faed
mezzotint, published 20 June 1859
NPG D38838
Unknown man called John Milton
by Charles William Sherborn, after Samuel Cooper
etching, 1883
NPG D21194
published by Paul and Dominic Colnaghi & Co, after Samuel Cooper
etching, published 30 August 1883
NPG D19172
published by Photographische Gesellschaft, after Pieter van der Plas
photogravure, circa 1900
NPG D38840
after Unknown artist
photograph, 1961 (circa 1629)
NPG D38832
by John Simon, sold by Thomas Bowles Sr, and sold by John Bowles, after Robert White
mezzotint, circa 1725-1750
NPG D19747
by Jonathan Richardson, after a portrait attributed to William Faithorne
etching, 1734
NPG D19741
by Jacobus Houbraken, published by John & Paul Knapton
line engraving, 1741
NPG D20372
by George Vertue, after William Faithorne
engraving, published 1750
NPG D19543
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Tom Cook
25 August 2019, 12:22
The current bio is quite good, but maybe needs a touch of revision, as well as its punctuation correcting. Milton’s first marriage seems not to have been wholly unhappy; his first and second wives both died before him; his work is not generally despairing (though his version of Satan is), with Paradise Lost in particular being a grand reconciliation to humanity’s shortcomings; and finally, though Paradise Regained is an epic, it’s not nearly as well known as Paradise Lost, while Samson Agonistes isn’t an epic at all, but rather a verse drama. Feel free to use the following version if you think it reads nicely:
Milton is regarded as one of the greatest English poets and a master of political pamphleteering. Forceful and idealistic, he served the Commonwealth as Latin Secretary but was arrested upon the restoration of Charles II. The tragic circumstances of his life – a difficult first marriage, the death of two wives, and his eventual blindness in 1652 – are reflected in the occasional melancholy of his work. Milton is best known for Paradise Lost (1667; 1674), an epic poem of Heaven, Hell, God, Satan, and angels: ‘Of things invisible to mortal sight’. Intense cultural interest in the nature of blindness meant that artists and writers continued to be fascinated by his experience of blindness in the Romantic and Victorian periods.