Porträt John Milton (1608-1674)

Portrait of John Milton. The English poet is represented here as a young man in the chest as a three-quarter profile to the left with his head turned slightly to the right, which he holds slightly oblique. He wears a coat that seems far too big and a neck brace. The effigy is embedded in an oval frame that is made of stone and in a stone wall. In front of the frame, slightly in lower elevation, various objects can be seen in front of a column’s foot, which are supposed to serve as attributes for the depicted: a closed book, a scroll, a lyra with angel’s head, a worm-like serpent with dragon’s head, a sphere holding in the mouth and a branch with spherical fruits. The depiction and execution of these attributes is reminiscent of another leaf that Houbraken stabbed (cf. BS-III 91). John Milton was also considered a political thinker and a state servant under Oliver Cromwell. His prose works and writings expressed his desire for freedom and self-determination and criticized the political unrest of his time. He wrote in English, Latin and Italian and thus gained early international fame. The enlightener wrote one of the most important works for freedom of speech and the press in history, namely “Areopagitica.” Many museums and libraries also have a copy of the paper, including the Munich State Graphical Collection, the British Museum in London, the Berlin State Library and the Austrian National Library in Vienna. The National Portrait Gallery even owns several copies of the present sheet. Signature: J. Houbraken sculps. Amst. 1741. Impensis J.& P. Knapton Londini, 1741. In the Collection of the Right Hon: Arthur Onslow Esqr Speaker of the House of Commons. Caption: John Milton. Watermark: present?, near the frame in the motif: LV? (Stiftung Händel-Haus Halle Foundation)