According to those who discovered and identified the painting, this is the only portrait of Shakespeare made during his lifetime, and it is therefore quite likely that the great British playwright actually posed for it.
For many people Shakespeare was the round-headed bold man seen on the First Folio of his collected works, for others he never really existed: William Shakespeare was the pen name for some mysterious writer or perhaps a group of writers.
In the light of this find we should now reconsider these theories, and visualise him as a rosy-cheeked, long-nosed man who was something of a looker.
From April 23, Shakespeare’s birthday, the painting is the centrepiece of an exhibition at the Shakespeare Centre in Statford-upon-Avon, entitled Shakespeare Found. In the meantime, Dr. Tarnya Cooper, the sixteenth-century curator of the National Portrait Gallery in London, has declared herself “vastly sceptical” about the portrait which, in her opinion, is more likely to represent the courtier Sir Thomas Overbury.
Personally, I wouldn’t mind it if the face of one of humanity’s greatest geniuses remained clouded in mystery. I feel and believe strongly that what survives of a person after their death are their thoughts and actions – Shakespere’s face is therefore more or less irrelevant to me. The essential is what he has left behind for all humanity, and that is, his sublime works, those pure uncontaminated verses which bring out the beauty and drama of human life on earth.
With Saint Anthony we are likewise bereft of a face. Again, does that really matter? The Saint has left us with what is really important, and that is his spirituality, his moral greatness.
Anthony was a man with a lively, keen intelligence, enhanced by theological and humanistic studies. He was one of the most intellectual and scholarly men of his times. He was also full of energy and determination, yet gentle and amiable at the same time.
One of his most common nicknames was ‘Hammer of the Heretics’, because his fiery arrows of truth stung deep. There was no negotiating nor compromise as far as the truth of the Gospel was concerned. However, he also revealed great understanding and tolerance, convinced that faith is a gift from God, and that the Christian message cannot be forced upon anyone.
Saint Anthony could be very tough, though, when he came across those who took advantage of their social position, their authority or their knowledge, in order to oppress the poor and commit injustice: those guilty of usury, the lending of money at astronomical interest rates, often bore the brunt of his criticism, calling them “the accursed race.” Corrupt priests and bishops did not fare much better, and were unable to escape his rebukes, but his sarcasm reached its peak against those who used the power of money to persuade prelates and clerics to conceal the truth of the Bible.
Anthony was also a hard worker. He spent a great deal of his childhood bent over books, and then, when he was a Franciscan, travelled extensively through France and Northern Italy, preaching as a missionary of God’s Word.
Above all, Saint Anthony was always willing to receive anyone who needed him, especially the poor. His love for them inspired him to ask God for special interventions: what we call miracles. But he never neglected to help even the rich if they pleaded for help in all sincerity, because their money and power were not enough to relieve their suffering and fears. Even the moments of rest were lived by Anthony with great intensity: he cherished contemplation and prayer.
Anthony and Shakespeare have left their mark on history, and will be remembered forever. Would to God that all those ladies and gentlemen out there who have waged a silly battle against the ravages of time with anti-aging agents understood this. I am referring especially to those who have greater familiarity with injections of botox than with books, theatres or charitable initiatives. Of the fullness of their lips, of their face lifts, of their breast augmentation, no memory will remain in a few years; what will remain of them is their soul – that element of human nature which survives death and is clearly visible for God, who will judge us according to how much we have loved.
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!” thus said Qoheleth in the Book of Ecclesiastes. We have no portrait of him, yet his verses still rebuke us!
Updated on October 06 2016