Not currently on display at the V&A

Print

early 19th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Gravelot, Hubert-François Bourguignon (artist)

Engraving, William Shakespeare's monument in Westminster Abbey. Full length statue of Shakespeare, leaning his right elbow on a pile of three books on a pedestal and, with his left hand, indicating a scroll attached to the side of the pedestal on which are inscribed lines from The Tempest. At the base of the pedestal are the carved heads of Elizabeth I, left; Henry V, centre and Richard III, right. Behind Shakespeare is an architectural frame topped by a pediment, with a plaque, inscribed in Latin, attached above his head. The whole stands on a plinth decorated with two large roundels represented the faces of a medal issued in 1803 : to left, Shakespeare sits on a rock between two Muses; to right, the text on the reverse of the medal (these do not appear on the actual monument).


Object details

Categories
Entertainment & Leisure
Prints
Object type
Print
Materials and techniques
Engraving
Brief description
Engraving depicting William Shakespeare's monument, designed by William Kent, in Westminster Abbey, London, early 19th century
Physical description
Engraving, William Shakespeare's monument in Westminster Abbey. Full length statue of Shakespeare, leaning his right elbow on a pile of three books on a pedestal and, with his left hand, indicating a scroll attached to the side of the pedestal on which are inscribed lines from The Tempest. At the base of the pedestal are the carved heads of Elizabeth I, left; Henry V, centre and Richard III, right. Behind Shakespeare is an architectural frame topped by a pediment, with a plaque, inscribed in Latin, attached above his head. The whole stands on a plinth decorated with two large roundels represented the faces of a medal issued in 1803 : to left, Shakespeare sits on a rock between two Muses; to right, the text on the reverse of the medal (these do not appear on the actual monument).
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 33.9cm
  • Sheet width: 20.2cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Gulielmo Shakspere anno post mortem CXXIV amor publicus posuit' (Top centre)
  • 'Mr. Fleetwood and Mr. Rich Masters of the two Theatres, having each of them generously given the benefit of a Play, towards erecting a Monument to the Memory of Shakspear, under the direction of the right Honourable Earl of Burlington, Dr. Mead, Mr. Pope and Mr. Martin. This Monument (which is reckoned one of the finest of the kind) was pursuant hereto erected in the Year 1741.'
Credit line
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996
Subject depicted
Shakespeare, William
Collection
Theatre and Performance Collection
Accession number
S.557-1997

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Record createdOctober 20, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1139030/print-gravelot-hubert-françois/
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