There have been so many claims for a "true" picture that I hesitate to believe this one, but it's an interesting story nevertheless... .LONDON — Scholars studying the life and times of William Shakespeare unveiled a portrait today believed to be the only authentic image of the Bard painted during his lifetime.
Experts at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust think the painting was used as the basis for the enduring engraving of Shakespeare that graces the cover of the First Folio collection of his plays. Paul Edmondson, the group's director of learning, said it was also used as a basis for the famous portrait of the playwright that hangs in the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington.
“What makes it so important is that it's a portrait of William Shakespeare made during his lifetime,” he said. “We think it was painted in 1610 and several copies of it were made early on, including the engraving. So our portrait is the primary version of one of the greatest portraits of Shakespeare.”
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I've done some extensive research on this topic:
http://bit.ly/jmKTc
and literally after several hours and archive hunting--I couldn't figure out whether they think he sat for the picture or not. Any thoughts?
That is not a portrait of William Shakespeare, at any age. The ratio of eye width to forehead height and forehead shape is far off from most known portraits of the playwright. The eyes in most if not all Shakespeare portraits are more rounded and slightly sunken in. This is more likely a picture of Sir Walter Raleigh (check the facial features and proportions then find images of Sir Walter on the internet to compare). Unless the family has documented proof that it is William Shakespeare in the picture, I would suggest a forensic re-examination and comparison of facial features in this portrait to "known" and/or "reliable" portraits.
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