Newly discovered portrait of Shakespeare's patron suggests he is the fair youth' of the sonnets

"The discovery of a previously unknown portrait miniature by one of Elizabethan England's greatest artists would be significant enough. But a new work by Nicholas Hilliard that has come to light is all the more exciting because it has a possible link to William Shakespeare and a 400-year-old enigma of a defaced red heart on its reverse, suggesting a love scorned."

"Such miniatures were painted on onion skin-thin vellum that were pasted on to playing cards, as a stiff support. This portrait's reverse reveals a card whose red heart had been painted over with a black spear or spade, seemingly indicating a broken heart. Reverse of the miniature with a red heart defaced by a black spade or spear, suggesting a love scorned The portrait has been identified by leading art historians Dr Elizabeth Goldring and Emma Rutherford, who were taken aback by the defacement."

One previously unknown portrait miniature by Nicholas Hilliard has been identified and dated to the Elizabethan period. The miniature depicts an androgynous, bejewelled young sitter with long ringlets, thought to be Henry Wriothesley, 3rd earl of Southampton, Shakespeare's friend and patron. The image may represent the fair youth alluded to in sonnets. The miniature was painted on onion skin-thin vellum and mounted on a playing card. The card reverse shows a red heart painted over with a black spear or spade, indicating deliberate defacement. Leading art historians identified the work and described the back's alteration as deliberate and striking.

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