A previously unknown portrait of what could have been William Shakespeare’s gay lover has been revealed.
The miniature portrait, painted on the back of a playing card, could be an intimate painting of the playwright’s patron and paramour.
Dr Elizabeth Goldring, an art historian and honorary reader at the University of Warwick, revealed the 16th-century painting was probably a love token with great emotional significance to the owner.
The portrait of an androgynous figure depicts Henry Wriothesley, the third Earl of Southampton.
Originally part of a private collection held by a branch of his family, it was recently sold to an unnamed party.
The painting was likely given by the Earl to Shakespeare but returned to him around the time he married Elizabeth Vernon in 1598.
On the reverse of the token, a red heart of a playing card is visible, as is a large black arrow – a motif which also appears in the playwright’s personal coat of arms.
Painted by Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite portraitist, Nicholas Hilliard, the artwork was created in the 1590s.
The portrait of an androgynous figure depicts Henry Wriothesley, the third Earl of Southampton and was likely given to William Shakespeare as a love token
The protrait appears to confirm a widely held belief that Shakespeare (pictured) was bisexual despite his 34-year marriage to Anne Hathaway
The time period overlaps with the poet’s two erotic poems – Venus and Adonis (1593) and The Rape of Lucrece (1594) – both dedicated to the Earl.
In the Rape of Lucrece, Shakespeare writes: ‘The love I dedicate to your Lordship is without end…What I have done is yours; what I have to do is yours.’
Discussing the painting, Dr Goldring told The Telegraph: ‘Miniatures are very personal, private intimate images often worn on the body close to the heart and were frequently exchanged as love tokens.’
The miniature seemingly serves as confirmation of a widely held belief by historians that Shakespeare had an affair with Lord Wriothesley.
The blonde aristocrat is considered to be the ‘Fair Youth’ in many of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
But it seems the affair ended upon Southampton’s marriage, with the portrait returned to him.
As Dr Goldring noted, it’s unusual for love tokens to be returned to the person depicted.
She added: ‘One tantalising interpretation might be that Shakespeare was the original recipient of the miniature but returned it to the Earl at some point – perhaps around the time of Southampton’s marriage in 1598 – with his personal mark firmly obscuring the heart.’
The blonde aristocrat is considered to be the ‘Fair Youth’ described in many of Shakespeare’s sonnets
The painting was likely given by the Earl to Shakespeare but returned to him around the time he married Elizabeth Vernon in 1598
Shakespeare was married to Anne Hathaway for 34 years – despite a significant age gap, but the portrait feeds in to the long-running debate over the poet’s sexuality.
The analysis of Hilliard’s miniature was conducted in partnership with fellow art historian Emma Rutherford, who she has previously worked with to authenticate other miniatures by the artist.
The pair also consulted Prof Sir Jonathan Bate, former Oxford University provost and one of the leading modern Shakespeare scholars.
Sir Jonathan told The Times: ‘I just couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing. I’ve seen hundreds of 16th-century miniatures; they are intensely private images. This just felt like something even more private than the face seen on the other side.
‘We had never seen a playing card reverse vandalised like this, with the obliteration of a heart. And to get to the back of a miniature in Elizabethan England, you would have to have prised it out of a very, very expensive locket. This feels like a really passionate act.’
