The Chandos portrait is the most famous of the portraits that are believed to depict William Shakespeare (1564–1616). Painted between 1600 and 1610, it may have served as the basis for the engraved portrait of Shakespeare used in the First Folio in 1623. It is named after the 3rd Duke of Chandos, who formerly owned the painting. The portrait was given to the National Portrait Gallery, London, on its foundation in 1856, and it is listed as the first work in its collection.
Chandos portrait
Engraved portrait of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout, on the title page of the first publication of his works, the First Folio, shows distinct similarities when compared to the oil painting.
The "Soest Portrait" of Shakespeare, painted c. 1667
The "Chesterfield Portrait" of Shakespeare, painted c. 1679
No contemporary physical description of William Shakespeare is known to exist. The two portraits of him that are the most famous are the engraving that appears on the title-page of the First Folio, published in 1623, and the other is the sculpture that adorns his memorial in Stratford upon Avon, which dates from before 1623. Experts and critics have argued that several other paintings from the period may represent him, and more than 60 portraits purporting to be of Shakespeare were offered for sale to the National Portrait Gallery within four decades of its foundation in 1856, but in none of them has Shakespeare's identity been proven.
From farthest left to right: The Cobbe portrait (1610), The Chandos portrait (early 1600s) and the Droeshout portrait (1622): three of the most prominent of the reputed portraits of William Shakespeare.
The Droeshout Portrait of William Shakespeare, from the First Folio
Bust of Shakespeare at Shakespeare's funerary monument
The Chandos portrait
