Director Anne Henderson’s documentary Battle of Wills (click here to see a clip) is a historical mystery about the legitimacy of a portrait (the first one shown below) that its owners claim to be the only picture of William Shakespeare painted during his lifetime.
Go here to read more about the Sanders Portrait shown below. The second is the Chandos portrait discussed in Bob’s interview with Anne Henderson. It hangs at the National Gallery in London and is believed by scholars to be the only true portrait of Shakespeare. The third portrait has also been believed, by some, to be an accurate portrait of the writer. The Cobbe portrait was discovered in 2009.
Sanders portrait
As a painter and one who trains on portrait drawing I believe the Sanders and the Cobbe portraits to be of the same person. The ears are the most telling for me. Look at the lobe attachment. There are other similarities, of course. But having, over many years, observed classrooms of artists drawing the same "model" it always amazes me how different each drawing can be one from another. However, a core likeness remains, as in the Sander’s and the Cobbe portraitures.
The interview was very exciting and touched on certain aspects including the state terrorism why catholics had to hide…very interesting; I did see the film screened on a big screen at the National Gallery of Art, its a very fun adventurous inquiry. The poet who wrote the prologue is also from montreal Robyn Sara. Anne mentioned that one of the actors Pennington is on broadway now in a production of Shakespeares Sonnets. I recommend this film and it shows really well on a big screen. the film would also be very appropriate for schools, its 52 minutes long.