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Secondary sourceSculpturec. 1616–1623

Shakespeare's Funerary Monument, Holy Trinity Church

Gheerart Janssen (attributed) · c. 1616–1623

A carved stone memorial erected soon after Shakespeare's death, showing him as a writer with pen in hand, seen by his own family.

A memorial to Shakespeare made soon after his death, seen by his family, and considered an authoritative likeness.

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Carved and painted stone funerary monument in a church: a bust of a bald-headed man with a moustache and pointed beard, in a red and dark robe with white collar, holding a quill pen and resting a hand on a cushion with a paper. Above are a coat of arms and two carved cherub figures; below is an inscribed Latin and English epitaph panel. Stained glass windows are behind.
Attributed to Gheerart Janssen, Shakespeare's funerary monument, c. 1616–1623. Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon.

About this source

What it is

This painted stone monument was erected in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, before 1623, attributed to the sculptor Gheerart Janssen. It shows a half-length effigy of a bald, moustached man holding a quill pen, with a coat of arms and carved cherubs above and an inscribed epitaph below.

Why it matters

Because it was made soon after Shakespeare's death and seen by people who had known him, including his family, the monument is considered one of the two authoritative likenesses of him. It deliberately presents him as a writer, with the pen and paper emphasising his literary legacy rather than any other role in his life.

Look closer

  • Why might the monument's makers have chosen to show him holding a pen rather than any other object?
  • What does the inscription and decoration suggest about how his family or community wanted him remembered?
  • How reliable is a sculpture made after someone's death as evidence of what they actually looked like?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of William Shakespeare on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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