Photo by Kelly Jo Photography
In 2009, Shakespeare lovers the world over were delighted with the discovery of a portrait that experts believe had been painted during the Bard’s lifetime. Suddenly Shakespeare was close enough to touch, closer to our imagination than ever before. Now imagine yourself as an artist and sculptor with a lifelong passion for all things Shakespeare, then add the discovery of a family connection between yourself and the newest Shakespeare portrait. It’s a moment when fate hands you more than you thought you ever wanted, when inspiration prompts you to create something new from something that has always been with you.
What began with the discovery of an image turned into a journey to create a significant new artwork that will delight and inspire Shakespeare lovers all over the world.
Portraits of Shakespeare:
For many years, there were only two portraits believed to depict William Shakespeare. The Droeshout portrait (left) from the First Folio and the Chandos oil portrait (right).
However, there is a third Shakespeare portrait on display at Hatchland’s Park, a National Trust property in Surrey. This painting was discovered in an Irish country house collection belonging to the Cobbe family of Newbridge House, Co. Dublin. The portrait was inherited in the early eighteenth century by a Charles Cobbe, Church of Ireland Archbishop (1686 – 1765).
Amongst the known portraits of Shakespeare this image, also known as the Cobbe Portrait, is considered the original, or prime source of other images and portraits of the Bard.
Evidence uncovered by researchers has led to claims, presented in March 2009, that the Cobbe portrait of Shakespeare was painted from life. As such, this image is the closest we shall ever have to a photograph of the Bard.
The Cobbe Portrait has been the centrepiece of two dedicated exhibitions: “Shakespeare Found”, at the Birthplace Trust, Stratford-upon-Avon (2009), and “The Changing Face of William Shakespeare (2011) at the Morgan Library and Museum, New York (2011).
The now famous Cobbe portrait unveiled by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust holds a special significance for artist, sculptor and Shakespeare lover Judy Methuen.
Prompted by the portrait’s discovery and unveiling in 2009, Judy looked back on her family tree and realised why she remembered that name. The Methuen-Cobbe relationship was established in the mid 1700’s when Paul Methuen of Corsham, MP for Warwick, married into the Cobbe family. This was enough to plant the seed of creativity and start a personal project which would envelope the next few years of her life and would culminate in the creation of the Shakespeare Cobbe Bust
The likeness of Judy’s sculpture to the original Cobbe portrait is flawless, as is the unexplainable energy and charisma that this depiction of Shakespeare exudes.
If the Cobbe portrait is the closest thing to a photograph we have, then the Methuen Bust is the closest thing we have to him actually being here.
Judy says, “When the portrait was discovered, I just loved it and wanted to make it three dimensional. And here he is, my Shakespeare is a handsome young man somewhere around the age of 30, when he was sweeping people off their fleet. That’s what I saw and wanted to create.”
Watch Judy describe her process in the video below:
The Bard on the move:
In the year of Shakespeare’s 450th Birthday the Shakespeare Cobbe Bust was launched. Judy’s labour of love made a pilgrimage to that other sanctum for Shakespeare lovers… Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. The Shakespeare Cobbe Bronze and the story of its creation were recreated for Shakespeare’s Globe Special Exhibition visitors.
The exhibition also showcased the amazing art photography of Kelly Jo Photography, who has charted the whole journey of the Methuen Shakespeare, from inception to finished piece.
