The Chesterfield portrait of William Shakespeare

Description:This portrait, once owned by the Earl of Chesterfield, is perhaps the most Baroque of all interpretations of the poet, with its flamboyant and expressive gesture.

Shakespeare's head is clearly modelled on the Chandos Portrait, including the characteristic earring. This depiction is an early example of a long line of interpretations on the theme of that painting.

Size: 560mm x 1450mm (framed), 530mm x 445mm (unframed). Oil on panel

Attributed to Peter Borseller (active 1644-1687), c. 1660-70.

The importance of the portrait is that it is one of the only three paintings of Shakespeare which can be taken back with some certainty to the middle years of the 17th Century. The other two are the Chandos Portrait and the Soest Portrait. The Chandos is the most important as it appears certainly to have belonged to Sir William Davenant (d.1667) and while its history before him is uncertain, there is as yet no reason to doubt that it was painted within the first quarter of the century and within Shakespeare's lifetime. In comparison, neither the Chesterfield, nor the Soest make any claim to be portraits from life. In style they are clearly of the second half of the century.

Sources Piper; Unpublished Memorandum - Levi Fox 7.6.1963