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| Artist: | John Faber, Jr. (1684-1756) |
| Title: | Richard III, 1731 |
| Description: | Mezzotint |
Walpole questioned the tradition that Richard was a monster both mentally and physically, pointing out that no contemporary account of him referred to any deformities of his figure and even quoted statements to the contrary. One of his sources-although mistrusted in its other parts--was the History of the Kings of England written by an antiquary John Rous (?1411-1491) who saw Richard at Warwick before his coronation and described him as small with uneven shoulders. This portrait is from a set of heads of the kings and queens of England from William the Conqueror to George II. The portraits were usually cut apart to be arranged as book illustrations.