In 1789, John Boydell opened The Boydell Shakespeare Gallery in London as a wave of English nationalism swept the country. The paintings featuring in the gallery linked the ‘national poet’ with the legacy of the ‘golden age’ in which he lived for the first time. This painting features Antigonus wearing an Elizabethan doublet, hose, and cloak. This approach to costuming Shakespeare’s characters had not been seen since the plays were first staged at the turn of the 17^th century.

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