Martin Droeshout
Encyclopedia
Martin Droeshout was an English engraver of Flemish
descent, whose fame rests completely on the fact that he made the title portrait for William Shakespeare
's collected works, the First Folio
of 1623, edited by John Heminges
and Henry Condell
, fellow actors of the Bard.
, John Howson
, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
and other notables.
He also created more ambitious allegorical
, mythical
and satirical
designs.
and anglicised his name to "Droeswood" ("hout" being Dutch for "wood").
Flemish people
The Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
descent, whose fame rests completely on the fact that he made the title portrait for William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's collected works, the First Folio
First Folio
Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. is the 1623 published collection of William Shakespeare's plays. Modern scholars commonly refer to it as the First Folio....
of 1623, edited by John Heminges
John Heminges
John Heminges was an English Renaissance actor. Most noted now as one of the editors of William Shakespeare's 1623 First Folio, Heminges served in his time as an actor and financial manager for the King's Men.-Life:Heminges was born in Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire in 1556...
and Henry Condell
Henry Condell
Henry Condell was an actor in the King's Men, the playing company for which William Shakespeare wrote. With John Heminges, he was instrumental in preparing the First Folio, the collected plays of Shakespeare, published in 1623....
, fellow actors of the Bard.
Shakespeare
Droeshout would have been beginning his career as an engraver when he was commissioned to create the portrait of Shakespeare. However, it has been sugested that his uncle, also called Martin Droeshout (1560s–c. 1642) may have been the actual artist, and that the two were later mixed up. Mary Edmund argues in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography that the elder artist created the work. More recent research by June Schlueter reaffirms the traditional attribution to the younger Droeshout.Other works
Droshout later created portrait engravings depicting John FoxeJohn Foxe
John Foxe was an English historian and martyrologist, the author of what is popularly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs, , an account of Christian martyrs throughout Western history but emphasizing the sufferings of English Protestants and proto-Protestants from the fourteenth century through the...
, John Howson
John Howson
John Howson was an English academic and bishop.-Life:He was born in the London parish of St Bride's Church, and educated at St Paul's School....
, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham KG was the favourite, claimed by some to be the lover, of King James I of England. Despite a very patchy political and military record, he remained at the height of royal favour for the first two years of the reign of Charles I, until he was assassinated...
and other notables.
He also created more ambitious allegorical
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
, mythical
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
and satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
designs.
Move to Spain
Some time between 1632 (his last known signed and dated English print) and 1635 (his first known signed and dated Spanish print), Martin Droeshout moved to MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and anglicised his name to "Droeswood" ("hout" being Dutch for "wood").