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William Shakespeare

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William Shakespeare

after Gerard Johnson
coloured plaster cast, 1846, based on a work of circa 1620
32 in. x 27 in. (813 mm x 686 mm)
Given by Mrs Charles James Wylie in memory of her husband, 1900
Primary Collection
NPG 1281

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Gerard Johnson (active 1616-1623), Sculptor. Artist or producer associated with 13 portraits.

This portraitback to top

This is a nineteenth century copy of Shakespeare's monument at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-Upon-Avon. The original was possibly by Garrat Johnson (or Gheerart Janssen), a Dutch émigré working in Southwark at the time. The copy was made when the original polychrome bust was painted white. Sculptural funerary monuments and memorials increasingly included portraits around this time.

Linked publicationsback to top

Events of 1620back to top

Current affairs

The beginning of a severe economic depression in England is widely blamed on the East India Company whose export of bullion on each voyage financed their trade. Additionally, despite efforts by Lionel Cranfield, Earl of Middlesex, to reduce the royal household's expenditure, James I's debt is historically high.

Art and science

Francis Bacon publishes his major philosophical work Novum Organum, which presents his account of the correct method of acquiring natural knowledge using inductive reasoning.
Inventor and mechanical engineer, Cornelis Drebbel builds an early type of submarine which he demonstrates on the Thames.

International

The Catholic League's invasion of Bohemia and victory at the battle of the White Mountain, forces Frederick V, king of Bohemia and his family into exile in the Hague, after less than a year reigning.
The Pilgrim Fathers sail for America in the 'Mayflower', escaping religious persecution in England.

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