made its appearance, and must at once have aroused interest and been considered a genuine portrait, otherwise the wouldbe descendant of Shakespeare would never have had it copied for himself, and neither the Count nor his companion Von Erdmannsdorf, both of whom were connoisseurs of art, would have attached any value to it. The original portrait by Jansen is painted on wood, according to the artist's usual custom, whereas the copy at Wörlitz is painted on canvas; it is seventyfour centimetres high and sixty-one in breadth. The agreement between the latter and Turner's mezzotint leaves nothing to be desired. The almond-shaped eyes remind one of the Stratford bust; but in all other respects, especially as regards the nose and the high and rather hard lines of the eyebrows, it shows a distinct resemblance to the Droeshout engraving. On examining the dark background of the picture an oval outline is seen; in fact, it would seem as if the original had been oval in form, a circumstance not implied in any previous account of the picture. No name of any artist is to be found, nor is there any sign of a date or of the scroll with the words, Ut Magus; the back of the canvas cannot be examined, as it has been lined with a sheet of linen. At any rate, this copy which, as far as we know, is unsurpassed by any other in Germany-deserves more attention and consideration than it has hitherto received. As our readers must perceive, all our knowledge on the subject of Shakespeare's portraits is based almost entirely upon hypotheses and combinations. It is only with regard to the Stratford bust and the Droeshout print that we may be said to stand upon terra firma, and it is not difficult to say to which of these two we give the preference. For, in spite of all that may be said against it, the bust unquestionably deserves to rank first, and its defects should be treated leniently and with a feeling of reverence; in England, too, its merits are becoming more and more recognized as the most trustworthy, faithful, and, on the whole, not unpleasant portrait of the poet. Those who are unable to accept any such combinations will find the positive result of our examination of the Shakespeare portraits meagre enough, and will no doubt feel disposed to cast them among those "groundless fancies which Shakespeare and his works have so frequently called forth. Still, in order to be able fully to appreciate the work accomplished, the negative result must also be taken into consideration. Before Boaden first threw light upon the myriad of Shakespeare portraits, an incredible amount of ignorance and confusion prevailed, particularly as fabrications and deceptions had been widely spread in this direction as well. In addition to W. Ireland, of notorious memory, there was, more particularly, a German restorer of pictures in London, one W. F. Zincke by name, who was very active in this line of business. One of his crudest fabrications was a portrait of Shakespeare on a pair of bellows which Zincke had repaired, and the picture was palmed off upon Talma as a genuine portrait of the poet. Talma purchased it for 1,000 francs, and is said to have refused as many pounds sterling for it. When, ultimately, Talma was undeceived, he conducted himself "like a philosopher and a gentleman;" this, at least, is the report given of him by the friend who undertook the unpleasant task. At the sale of Talma's possessions, after his death, the bellows nevertheless fetched the sum of 3,100 francs, and it is said the bellows were even brought back to England by some dealer in curiosities to be sold. Whether this speculation proved successful has not been stated; very possibly a worthy successor to Pope presented himself, Pope's ignorance in matters connected with art being such that he allowed a portrait of James I. to be palmed off upon him as Shakespeare's likeness. There is nowadays, at all events, no dearth of signposts and signals of warning to make such mistakes next to an impossibility; everything that is spurious and worthless has been cast aside, and this much, at least, has been accomplished, that the question can now apply only to the few portraits-the Imagines Principes, as it were-which we have briefly described to our readers. 1 Ainger, Charles Lamb, London, 1882, p. 127 f. 2 Wivell, Historical Account of all the Portraits of Shakespeare, pp. 197-205; Wivell, A Supplement, &c., p. 21. Compare Shakespeariana, Catalogue of all the Books, Pamphlets, &c., relating to Shakespeare, London, 1827 (printed for John Wilson). A detailed account of the bellows picture, pp. xxi.-xxiv. INDEX. LARUM for London," R. "A Simpson on, 301. Actor, the first with an assumed Shakespeare as an, 235; also Actors, 173; conflicts of, with the See Alleyn, Edward, 58, 173, 183, 225; Mrs., her letter brought to Ambition, Shakespeare's, 428. Ancestors, Shakespeare's, 9, 11. See also under Shakespeare. Angler, Shakespeare an, 395. "Antwerp, The Siege of." See "A Apothecary, Shakespeare an, 84. Mary, Shakespeare's mother, Robert, 11, 187; his will, 11. Arms, coat of, Shakespeare's, 11, Arts, the fine, Shakespeare's know- Asbies, or Ashbies, estate, 91, 180; 374, 380, 408; Shakespeare as Atheist, Shakespeare not an, 440. Autograph, Shakespeare's, 9, 185, Ayrer, Shakespeare's acquaintance Bacon, Delia, and her theory of Lord Bacon, Lord, and Shakespeare, 386, Bacon, Sir Nathaniel, portrait of 564. Bale, Bishop, his works, 207, 208. Barnfield, Richard, and "The Pas- Beds, bequests of, and that of Shake- Beeston, Christopher, actor, 268. of New Place, 484, 501, 535, 540; 504. Benfield, Robert, actor, 240, 263. Bible, The, Shakespeare's knowledge Quartos, Folios, etc., and the foot- Birch, J. W., on Shakespeare's Re- Birth-date of Shakespeare, 29, 31; Black Friars, house of the, etc., 212. Blackfriars Theatre, 212, 217, 222, Blades, Mr. William, his attempt to show that Shakespeare was a Blood, circulation of, Shakespeare's Boaden, James, on Shakespeare's Boar's Head, East Cheap, 147, 149. Bodley, Sir T., his library, exclusion Boys of the Chapel Royal, etc. See Brown, C. A., on Shakespeare, 80, 327. Brown, Henry, on the "Sonnets," Brownists, The, 462. Bruno, Giordano, Shakespeare and, Bryan, George, actor, 255. |