 In addition to its use as a template to judge the authenticity of other images , scholars have also speculated about the original source used by Droeshout himself . The 19th @-@ century scholar George Scharf argued on the basis of the inconsistencies in the lights and shadows that the original image would have been " either a <unk> or a crayon drawing " . These typically used outlines rather than chiaroscuro modelling . He deduced that Droeshout had <unk> attempted to add modelling shadows . Mary Edmond points out that Droeshout the Elder seems to have had an association with Marcus Gheeraerts the portraitist , and notes that there is evidence that a portrait of Shakespeare by Gheeraerts may have once existed . She surmises that Droeshout 's engraving may have been derived from this lost portrait . Cooper argues that the poor drawing and modelling of the doublet and collar suggests that Droeshout was copying a lost drawing or painting that only depicted Shakespeare 's head and shoulders . The body was added by the engraver himself , as was common practice . 
