The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust portrait of William Shakespeare was painted during his lifetime. While we do not know the name of the artist, painter anonymity is often the case for paintings at this time. Consider how carefully the artist has painted Shakespeare’s face and clothes. His skin looks clear and his eyes look bright and alive. The beautiful lace collar was very fashionable and expensive, and shows us that, at this time in his life, Shakespeare was successful and wealthy. This portrait was painted on oak panels. The wood was left to ‘season’ or dry so that it would be in good condition for painting. The paints were made from pigments, or coloured earths, mixed with linseed oil.

Since portraits reveal so much about their subject, Shakespeare referred to portraiture when characters struggle to explain or understand something vital about another person. In the tragedy of Hamlet, for instance, Hamlet directs his mother to two portraits: one of his father, and the other of his uncle who is now his step-father.

The portrait is important because it was probably painted while Shakespeare was there so it shows how he looked.

It is my favourite item because it is the only known painting of Shakespeare from the time.

This is my favourite item because it is the only painting that shows Shakespeare wearing an earring.

This is my favourite collections item because some peope think it was painted when Shakespeare was there at the time and not painted from memory.

It is thought that this was painted during William Shakespeare's lifetime. It is unique.There were government laws about the fabrics and furs people could wear so you could tell at a glance how important a person was.

This might be the only portrait painted with Shakespeare there.