e is considerable discrepancy between the two; their main
points of resemblance are the baldness on the top of the head and the
fulness of the hair about the ears. The bust was by Gerard Johnson or
Janssen, who was a Dutch stonemason or tombmaker settled in Southwark.
It was set up in the church before 1623, and is a rudely carved specimen
of mortuary sculpture. There are marks about the forehead and ears which
suggest that the face was fashioned from a death mask, but the
workmanship is at all points clumsy. The round face and eyes present a
heavy, unintellectual expression. The bust was originally coloured, but
in 1793 Malone caused it to be whitewashed. In 1861 the whitewash was
removed, and the colours, as far as traceable, restored. The eyes are
light hazel, the hair and beard auburn. There have been numberless
reproductions, both engraved and photographic. It was first
engraved--very imperfectly--for Rowe's edition in 1709; then by Vertue
for Pope's edition of 1725; and by Gravelot for Hanmer's edition in 1744.
A good engraving by William Ward appeared in 1816. A phototype and a
chromo-phototype, issued by the New Shakspere Society, are the best
reproductions for the purposes of study. The pretentious painting known
as the 'Stratford' portrait, and presented in 1867 by W. O. Hunt, town
clerk of Stratford, to the Birthplace Museum, where it is very
prominently displayed, was probably painted from the bust late in the
eighteenth century; it lacks either historic or artistic interest.

Droeshout's engraving.

The engraved portrait--nearly a half-length--which was printed on the
title-page of the folio of 1623, was by Martin Droeshout. On the
opposite page lines by Ben Jonson congratulate 'the graver' on having
satisfactorily 'hit' the poet's 'face.' Jonson's testimony does no
credit to his artistic discernment; the expression of countenance, which
is very crudely rendered, is neither distinctive nor lifelike. The face
is long and the forehead high; the top of the head is bald, but the hair
falls in abundance over the ears. There is a scanty moustache and a thin
tuft under the lower lip. A stiff and wide collar, projecting
horizontally, conceals the neck. The coat is closely buttoned and
elaborately bordered, especially at the shoulders. The dimensions of the
head and face are disproportionately large as compared with those of the
body. In the unique proof copy which belonged to Halliwell-Phill