MARTIN DROESHOUT (1601-AFTER 1639)
[William Shakespere]
1685RCIN 661421
This portrait of Shakespeare is one of the only likenesses made within living memory of the playwright, and has one of the best claims to authentic representation. This impression includes the poem written by Shakespeare’s contemporary, Ben Jonson, to accompany it in the First Folio of Shakespeare’s complete works printed in 1623. Jonson writes that although the engraver has successfully reproduced Shakespeare’s face, he has not captured his wit.