William Shakespeare monument print, Shakespeare Gallery

What it is

This 1776 print shows an engraved alto-relievo (raised relief) design of Shakespeare seated in 18th-century dress, flanked by two draped female figures: one playing a lute and holding a laurel wreath, the other holding a painter's palette. An inscription quotes a line praising him, and the caption names the Shakespeare Gallery on Pall Mall in London. The print is held by the Albertina Museum in Austria.

Why it matters

Made more than 150 years after Shakespeare's death, this image is not a record of his real appearance but a monument-style tribute created for a gallery dedicated to celebrating his works. It shows how, by the late 1700s, Shakespeare had become a cultural hero honored with allegorical imagery, linking him to music and the arts through the symbolic female figures beside him.

Look closer

• What do the lute, laurel wreath, and palette held by the two figures suggest about how Shakespeare was being honored?
• Why might a gallery in London in 1776 want to create a monument-style image like this rather than a simple portrait?
• What does the inscribed quotation add to how we are meant to feel about Shakespeare?