Steven Wadlow, a British window cleaner, has been collecting evidence that the painting hanging in his living room is a portrait of Shakespeare. He has spent more than a decade trying to confirm its authenticity. The painting is an oil on panel and possibly a portrait of Shakespeare at the age of 31. The artist has not been identified. Some art historians contacted by Wadlow have suggested two names: William Segar and Robert Peake, he says on his website. A heavy layer of overpaint casts doubt on the painter’s intent, which appears to have been to obscure Shakespeare’s identity.
The dating of Steven Wadlow’s painting was confirmed by analyzing the chemical composition of the paint layers: it was indeed painted in 1595 when Shakespeare was 31 years old. Costume experts and art historians have confirmed the date. According to one researcher, Steven Wadlow’s painting could then be the missing portrait referred to in The Portrait of Droeshout (1623), one of the only known portraits of Shakespeare. Most experts believe that the Droeshout engraving is based on a portrait painted by the artist while he was still alive.
Steven Wadlow’s painting also turns out to be similar to the Portrait of Droeshout. Initially mistaken for a pastiche, the painting was compared to the engraving by a French company specializing in digital analysis of paintings. The analysis revealed a great similarity in the mouth and eyes between the two portraits. The experts at this company hypothesize that it is a portrait of Shakespeare disguised as the ghost of Hamlet’s father, whom he used to play.
A comparative expert report with a funerary bust representing Shakespeare also seems to confirm that Steven Wadlow’s painting is a portrait of the playwright. In the description of the Memorial Bust in Stratford-upon-Avon Church, we can read a text that corresponds to Steven Wadlow’s painting: “The buttoned doublet, with its ornamental notches (…) originally painted scarlet, the hazel eyes and the auburn hair and beard.”
The portrait kept by Steven Wadlow, which he believes to be a depiction of Shakespeare.
Courtesy Steven Wadlow
The Stratford-upon-Avon Memorial Bust and the Droeshout Portrait are the only known portraits of Shakespeare. Both are posthumous depictions made 7 years after his death. There are about ten alleged portraits of the poet, including the 1610 Chandos Portrait attributed to John Taylor in the National Portrait Gallery (London) and the 1610 Cobbe Portrait in Hatchlands Park (Surrey). If Steven Wadlow’s painting is indeed a portrait of Shakespeare, it would be the first depiction of the artist and the only portrait painted during his lifetime.
Steven Wadlow’s painting was acquired in the 1960s by Peter Wadlow, Steven Wadlow’s father, who worked as an antiques dealer and curator. It was not until 2012 that the father took the painting down from the family living room and called out to his son: “Shakespeare looks like the guy above the TV!” he exclaimed after watching a documentary about the playwright.
Despite the evidence provided by Steven Wadlow, the academic community does not seem convinced of the origin of the painting. Steven Wadlow is followed by a film crew that accompanies him in his research, he hopes to find a channel that will agree to broadcast his images.
