John Donne
1 portrait on display in Room 2 at the National Portrait Gallery
John Donne
by Unknown English artist
oil on panel, circa 1595
30 3/8 in. x 24 5/8 in. (771 mm x 625 mm)
Purchased with help from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, The Art Fund, Lord Harris of Peckham, L.L. Brownrigg, the Portrait Fund, Sir Harry Djanogly, the Headley Trust, the Eva & Hans K. Rausing Trust, The Pidem Fund, Mr O. Damgaard-Nielsen, Sir David and Lady Scholey and numerous Gallery visitors and supporters, 2006
Primary Collection
NPG 6790
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This portraitback to top
This remarkable image is one of the earliest surviving examples of an Elizabethan author portrait. The poet is depicted with his head set back in the shadows, topped by a wide-brimmed hat and his collar left untied at the neck - a fashionable literary affectation of melancholy. The Latin inscriptions translates as 'O Lady, lighten our darkness' and suggests that the picture may have been intended as a plea to a lover.
Linked publicationsback to top
- Cooper, Tarnya; Fraser, Antonia (foreword), A Guide to Tudor and Jacobean Portraits, 2012, p. 25
Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top
- Shakespeare and his Circle (4 October 2008 - 1 June 2009)
- Recent acquisition: John Donne (2 June 2006 - 24 July 2008)
- Searching for Shakespeare (2 March 2006 - 29 May 2006)
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On display in Room 2 at the National Portrait Gallery
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