Benjamin Jonson

Benjamin Jonson

by Abraham van Blyenberch
oil on canvas, circa 1617
18 1/2 in. x 16 1/2 in. (470 mm x 419 mm)
Purchased, 1935
Primary Collection
NPG 2752

Sitter

Benjamin Jonson (1573?-1637), Poet and dramatist. Sitter associated with 15 portraits.

Artist

Abraham van Blyenberch (1575/6-1624). Artist associated with 10 portraits.

This Portrait

This portrait has a very strong claim to have been painted from life by the talented Flemish artist Abraham van Blyenberch. Jonson was highly regarded by his patrons and the portrait was probably commissioned by the court favourite George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham to hang in his private collection.

Related Works

NPG 363: Benjamin Jonson (probably after)

Linked Publications

Sound Guide
Cooper, John, A Guide to the National Portrait Gallery, 2009, p. 18
Cooper, Tarnya, Searching for Shakespeare (hardback), 2006 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 2 March - 29 May 2006), p. 180
Cooper, Tarnya, Searching for Shakespeare, 2006 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 2 March - 29 May 2006), p. 180
Motion, Andrew, Interrupted Lives in Literature, 2004, p. 13
Nicholl, Charles, Character Sketches: Elizabethan Writers, 1997, p. 21
Nicholl, Charles, Insights: Shakespeare and His Contemporaries, 2005, p. 42
Piper, David, The English Face, 1992, p. 68
Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 343
Strong, Roy, Tudor and Jacobean Portraits, 1969, p. 183