William Shakespeare
1 portrait of William Shakespeare
© National Portrait Gallery, London
William Shakespeare
after Gerard Johnson
plaster cast, early 20th century, from a mid 19th century mould of a work of circa 1620
31 3/4 in. (806 mm) high
Purchased, 1914
Primary Collection
NPG 1735
Sitterback to top
- William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Dramatist and poet. Sitter associated with 107 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Gerard Johnson (active 1616-1623), Sculptor. Artist or producer associated with 13 portraits.
Related worksback to top
- NPG 185a: William Shakespeare (based on same portrait)
- NPG D18888: William Shakespeare (based on same portrait)
- NPG D21013: Monument to William Shakespeare in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon (based on same portrait)
- NPG D41657: William Shakespeare (based on same portrait)
- NPG D41658: William Shakespeare (based on same portrait)
- NPG D41659: William Shakespeare (based on same portrait)
- NPG L269.B5.01: Monument to William Shakespeare in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon ()
Linked publicationsback to top
- Charles Nicholl, Shakespeare and his Contemporaries, 2015, p. 45
- Cooper, Tarnya, Searching for Shakespeare, 2006 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 2 March - 29 May 2006), p. 51
- Cooper, Tarnya, Searching for Shakespeare (hardback), 2006 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 2 March - 29 May 2006), p. 51
- Nicholl, Charles, Character Sketches: Elizabethan Writers, 1997, p. 15
- Nicholl, Charles, Insights: Shakespeare and His Contemporaries, 2005, p. 37
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 558
- Strong, Roy, Tudor and Jacobean Portraits, 1969, p. 283
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.
Comments back to top
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