Apr 23, 2019 · William Shakespeare (1564–1616) is the most famous playwright in history, though ironically, we know very little about his life and perhaps even less about what he really looked like. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly (and very obviously), Shakespeare lived before the time of photography.

Here's a test: close your eyes and in your mind picture what William Shakespeare looked like. Almost certainly you're thinking of a middle-aged man with a receding hairline and...

This page runs through the various William Shakespeare images that exist. Sadly there’s no William Shakespeare photo (as cameras were not around in the Elizabethan era!), but there are a number of Shakespeare portraits, paintings, engravings, and sculptures.

Sep 4, 2017 · When you think of Shakespeare, you probably have a particular image of the Bard in mind: a receding hairline, heavy-lidded eyes, a thin mustache, and long, wavy hair....

Feb 23, 2025 · What did Shakespeare look like? The quest to know what William Shakespeare truly looked like has captivated scholars, artists, and enthusiasts for centuries, yet his authentic appearance remains shrouded in mystery. Among the handful of purported contemporary depictions, three significant representations have emerged as the most widely ...

Feb 21, 2019 · There is one (one!) picture that scholars agree portrays Shakespeare, a black-and-white engraving by a man named Martin Droeshout – please get in touch if you know how on earth to pronounce...

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.

Sep 10, 2018 · Most of us think that we know what this most famous poet and playwright William Shakespeare, looked like. Our image of him comes from the portrait in the First Folio of his plays, a rather mediocre woodcut by Martin Droeshout, which nevertheless gave a fair likeness, according to his contemporary, friend and rival Ben Jonson.

Aug 21, 2022 · What did Shakespeare look like? When we picture Shakespeare, we usually think of the “Droeshout portrait,” the engraved frontispiece for the volume that collected all “Mr William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies.”

What did Shakespeare look like? Was he short? Find out about Shakespeare's portraits and miniatures from your trusted Shakespeare source.