Lot Essay
Two versions exist of this entrancing portrait of a young man, both indisputably from the hand of Nicholas Hilliard - the other, which belonged to Sir Hans Sloane, was transferred to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1939. Both versions were thought to represent Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, but comparison with accepted portraits of the Earl make the attribution untenable.
The late Leslie Hotson was convinced that the sitter was none other than William Shakespeare, and he explored the tangled world of Elizabethan allusion and symbolism in his book, Shakespeare by Hilliard (1977). In it he suggests that the Bard is shown as Mercury, grasping the hand of Apollo (perhaps Will Hatcliffe in the guise of the god) and that the imprese be translated as 'Athenians because of love'. He reads allusions to Mercury in the plumed hat of amethystine hue, the spangled hat band connected to Argos, the squared motifs of the collar and buttons representing that god's favoured number four: to Apollo in the young white hand, the extended healing forefinger of that hand appearing from seven clouds (seven being Apollo's favoured number, but the clouds of the Victoria and Albert's version can hardly be seen as seven). However scholars are skeptical. It is unlikely that Shakespeare would have been painted by the leading limner of the day just two years after he had left Stratford, where he was known as a poacher, let alone two versions of the same portrait. The device of two clasped hands vertical is that of Lord Strange, a kinsman of Lord Hunsdon (who later is known to have been Shakespeare's patron), who inherited the leading players from the Earl of Leicester in 1588, but there is no evidence of patronage of Shakespeare at that early date.
Sir Roy Strong (1983, pp. 74, 75) makes a good case for Lord Thomas Howard (1561-1626), later 1st Earl of Suffolk (1603) and 1st Baron Howard de Walden. Being the second son of Thomas, 4th Duke of Norfolk, he would have had the social standing to wear a large jewelled hat badge, and the fact that he was knighted at sea for bravery shown at the engagement off Calais with the Spanish Armada would be sufficient reason to have his portrait painted that year. The Howard identification is strengthened by the presence of a portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh in the family's collection: Raleigh served under Lord Thomas on an expedition to the West Indies, and they appear to have remained good friends. Lord Thomas attempted to reconcile Raleigh with Essex, with whom he was closely associated at that time, and under whom he served on the Cadiz expedition of 1596.
The motto (or imprese) still baffles translation. Some classical scholars reject the 'Athenians because of love' chosen by Hotson in favour of 'Because of the love of Atticus', but a third alternative is 'For Attic love'. The hand in the clouds probably indicates a lady (it certainly does not resemble that of an adult male) but could it be that of a boy - perhaps a dear friend lost in action against the Spaniards. However, and most likely, the hand is symbolic either of Concord and Plighted Faith or of Valour - after all, if the sitter is Lord Thomas Howard, the portrait was painted in the year that he had been knighted for bravery.
In 1588 Lord Thomas would have been twenty-seven years old: twice married before 1583, he was a figure at court and took part in the Accession Day Tilts of 1584, 1585, 1586 and 1589. James I appointed him Lord Treasurer in 1614, but he was dismissed four years later for embezzlement.
The late Leslie Hotson was convinced that the sitter was none other than William Shakespeare, and he explored the tangled world of Elizabethan allusion and symbolism in his book, Shakespeare by Hilliard (1977). In it he suggests that the Bard is shown as Mercury, grasping the hand of Apollo (perhaps Will Hatcliffe in the guise of the god) and that the imprese be translated as 'Athenians because of love'. He reads allusions to Mercury in the plumed hat of amethystine hue, the spangled hat band connected to Argos, the squared motifs of the collar and buttons representing that god's favoured number four: to Apollo in the young white hand, the extended healing forefinger of that hand appearing from seven clouds (seven being Apollo's favoured number, but the clouds of the Victoria and Albert's version can hardly be seen as seven). However scholars are skeptical. It is unlikely that Shakespeare would have been painted by the leading limner of the day just two years after he had left Stratford, where he was known as a poacher, let alone two versions of the same portrait. The device of two clasped hands vertical is that of Lord Strange, a kinsman of Lord Hunsdon (who later is known to have been Shakespeare's patron), who inherited the leading players from the Earl of Leicester in 1588, but there is no evidence of patronage of Shakespeare at that early date.
Sir Roy Strong (1983, pp. 74, 75) makes a good case for Lord Thomas Howard (1561-1626), later 1st Earl of Suffolk (1603) and 1st Baron Howard de Walden. Being the second son of Thomas, 4th Duke of Norfolk, he would have had the social standing to wear a large jewelled hat badge, and the fact that he was knighted at sea for bravery shown at the engagement off Calais with the Spanish Armada would be sufficient reason to have his portrait painted that year. The Howard identification is strengthened by the presence of a portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh in the family's collection: Raleigh served under Lord Thomas on an expedition to the West Indies, and they appear to have remained good friends. Lord Thomas attempted to reconcile Raleigh with Essex, with whom he was closely associated at that time, and under whom he served on the Cadiz expedition of 1596.
The motto (or imprese) still baffles translation. Some classical scholars reject the 'Athenians because of love' chosen by Hotson in favour of 'Because of the love of Atticus', but a third alternative is 'For Attic love'. The hand in the clouds probably indicates a lady (it certainly does not resemble that of an adult male) but could it be that of a boy - perhaps a dear friend lost in action against the Spaniards. However, and most likely, the hand is symbolic either of Concord and Plighted Faith or of Valour - after all, if the sitter is Lord Thomas Howard, the portrait was painted in the year that he had been knighted for bravery.
In 1588 Lord Thomas would have been twenty-seven years old: twice married before 1583, he was a figure at court and took part in the Accession Day Tilts of 1584, 1585, 1586 and 1589. James I appointed him Lord Treasurer in 1614, but he was dismissed four years later for embezzlement.