25 - George Romney (circle) (1734, Dalton-in-Furness – 1802, Kendal), Allegory of Shakespeare’s Birth.

George Romney (circle) (1734, Dalton-in-Furness – 1802, Kendal), Allegory of Shakespeare’s Birth. Oil on canvas, with relining. (18th century). Approx. 117 x 159 cm. This unusual allegorical depiction shows William Shakespeare, portrayed as an infant, as a “genius of nature” to whom the personification of Nature reveals herself. Joy and Sorrow appear at his sides, while in the background the other human passions—love, hate, jealousy, anger, envy, and fear—gather. Romney created the original composition around 1791–92 for the Shakespeare Gallery in London, founded by John and Josiah Boydell. The conception of the poet as a genius endowed from birth with extraordinary creative talent corresponds to a central tenet of late 18th-century Shakespearean veneration. At the same time, the composition deliberately plays with the visual language of Christian Nativity and Adoration scenes: The naked boy at the center, the figures surrounding him, and the veiled yet revealed essence of nature lend the depiction the character of a secularized Nativity scene. Romney’s painting was disseminated in 1799 through an engraving by Benjamin Smith for the Boydell edition. This work thus stands in the direct tradition of one of the most original Shakespearean allegories in English art of the late 18th century. Provenance: International private collection. Taxation: subject to regular taxation (VAT: Regular Taxation).