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A slip of paper affixed to the back proclaims "Shakespere. This likeness taken 1603, Age at that time 39 ys." But is it really Shakespeare who peers at us from the small oil on wood painting? The twinkling eyes, reddish hair, and green jacket are not in keeping with the duller, traditional images of the bard. But they are more suggestive of the humorous and humane man who wrote the greatest plays in the English language.
Shakespeare's Face tells the riveting story of how the painting came to reside in the home of a retired engineer in a mid-sized Ontario town. The painting is reputed to be by John Sanders of Worcester, England. As a retirement project, the engineer, whose grandmother kept the family treasure under her bed, embarked on authenticating the portrait: the forensic analyses that followed have proven it without doubt to the period.
In a remarkable publishing coup, Knopf Canada has gathered around Stephanie Nolen's story a group of the world's leading Shakespeare scholars and art and cultural historians to delve into one of the most fascinating literary mysteries of our times: "Is this the face of genius?"
Excerpt from Chapter 1 of Shakespeare's Face by Stephanie Nolen
By the late afternoon I was beginning to go a little cross-eyed. I had examined countless documents and read the test results from the painting's painstaking forensic analysis. I now had everything I needed to write my story -- except for one crucial item. "Is he here?" I asked, almost in a whisper....
The owner laid the package carefully on the cluttered table. He gently pulled back the kraft paper wrapping, underneath which was a layer of bubble wrap. Then he peeled back this second layer to reveal his treasure.
I was caught off-guard by how small the portrait was -- and how vivid. The colours in the paint seemed too rich to be 400 years old. Except for the hairline cracks in the varnish, the face could have been painted yesterday. And there was nothing austere or haughty about it, nothing of the great man being painted for posterity. It was a rogue's face, a charmer's face that looked back at me with a tolerant, mischievous slightly world-weary air....
It was painted on two pieces of solid board so expertly joined that the seam was barely visible. A date, "Ano 1603", was painted in small red letters in the top right hand corner. The right side had been nibbled by woodworms.... I stood and gazed, quelling an instinctive urge to pick the portrait up and hold it in my hands. And as my professional skepticism crumpled for a moment, I found myself wanting desperately to believe that this was indeed Shakespeare's face.
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Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 5319214-n
Book Description Paperback or Softback. Condition: New. Shakespeare's Face: Unraveling the Legend and History of Shakespeare's Mysterious Portrait 1.06. Book. Seller Inventory # BBS-9781416567912
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: new. This item is printed on demand. Seller Inventory # 9781416567912
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. A fascinating literary detective story charting the surprising, true history of a recently discovered painting of Shakespeare held by the same family for 400 years -- adding new drama to the Bard's life.When author Stephanie Nolen reported the discovery of the only portrait of William Shakespeare painted while he was alive, the announcement ignited furious controversy around the world. Now, in this provocative biography of the portrait, she tells the riveting story of how a rare image of the young Bard at thirty-nine came to reside in the suburban home of a retired engineer, whose grandmother kept the family treasure under her bed, and how he embarked on authenticating it. The ultimate Antiques Roadshow dream, the portrait has been confirmed by six years of painstaking forensic studies to date from around 1600, and it has not been altered since. A nonfiction "Girl in Hyacinth Blue," this fascinating literary detective story tells the entertaining history of a recently discovered painting of Shakespeare held by the same family for 400 years, adding new drama to the Bard's life. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781416567912
Book Description PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. THIS BOOK IS PRINTED ON DEMAND. Established seller since 2000. Seller Inventory # IQ-9781416567912
Book Description Paperback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. Seller Inventory # B9781416567912
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 384 pages. 9.00x6.00x1.25 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # x-1416567917
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 5319214-n
Book Description PAP. Condition: New. New Book. Delivered from our UK warehouse in 4 to 14 business days. THIS BOOK IS PRINTED ON DEMAND. Established seller since 2000. Seller Inventory # IQ-9781416567912