John Taylor (painter)
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(c. 1600–10; attributed)
John Taylor | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of John Taylor (1655) | |
| Born | c. 1580 |
| Died | 1653 (aged 72–73) |
| Known for | Painting |
| Notable work | Chandos portrait (c. 1600–10; attributed) |
John Taylor (c. 1580–1653)[1] was an English artist who has been put forth as the most likely painter of the Chandos portrait of William Shakespeare. All of John Taylor's other paintings have since become lost.
Taylor was born around 1580 and he was probably a child actor with the Children of Paul's in the late 1590s. Though there was certainly a boy actor of that name with the troupe, it cannot be proved that this was the artist. The connection is based on George Vertue's assertion that the artist was also an actor.[2] It is possible that confusion has arisen with the well-known actor Joseph Taylor, who also began his career as a child actor. Vertue also says that Taylor was an "intimate friend" of Shakespeare's.
