ABSTRACT
The subject of the enigmatic portrait in the Ashmolean Museum is giving nothing away. He stands solemn and composed, a Caroline citizen robed in a black gown lifted with the white of collar and cuff. He could be a lawyer, a doctor, a divine even, except that there are no neckbands and a jewel gleams on his chest. Poised and assured he appraises posterity. Perhaps, though, this is simply another role he has assumed, for the man is John Lowin of the King's Men. His portrait, which has evidently been commissioned, depicts him at 64 and is a measure of how much gravitas and prestige the profession of player has acquired in those 60-plus years since James Burbage opened the doors of the first theatre in Shoreditch. The figures of the popular clowns. Richard Tarleton. Will Kemp and Robert Armin have come down to us in sketches embellishing title pages, as has the famous engraving of William Shakespeare. The painting of Richard Burbage's face is thought to be a self-portrait, and the bust of Nathan Field depicts a fashionable man about town. Richard Perkins, who enjoyed a long and distinguished acting career, sat for his portrait gazing wistfully from the canvas, long hair gracefully curled, moustache and beard groomed to the 'Van Dvck' style.
