I do not want you to like me
The Rake's Progress...
Ever since I saw Johnny Depp in the role of John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, I was totally blown away by this gripping, haunting, amusing and heartwrenching portrayal.
The historical John Wilmot (1 April 1647 - 26 July 1680) was an English libertine, a friend of King Charles II, and the writer of much satirical and bawdy poetry.
A patron of the arts, he was the toast of the Restoration court and had besides his wife many mistresses. Wilmot was also an infamous debauchee, and when he died at the age of 33, he had made himself that early end, drinking and shagging himself literally to death (it is said that he suffered from syphilis and other venereal diseases).
In the film "The Libertine" from 2004, based on the play by Stephen Jeffreys, the Earl starts the ride with a prologue in which he claims "You will not like me." He then makes some scandalous and nasty statements, to close his speech with the words: "This is it. That is my prologue. Nothing in rhyme. No protestations of modesty. You were not expecting that, I hope. I am John Wilmot. Second Earl of Rochester. And I do not want you to like me."
Oh dear. At least by now, I was totally sold. And at the end of the film I am always in tears; despite being a cynic, egoist spirit, Johnny lets the heart, the soul and the love of John Wilmot shine through. It is incredible.
Naturally, I tend to draw such characters sooner or later (this time it was later, since screencaps of the film are not very suitable as reference - too washed out or dark, so I went with the movie poster) and here you can see what I've made of the Earl:
Done with black and white pastels on velour-surface paper, 24 x 33 cm
In case you want to check out Rochester's poetry, you may go here: http://www.druidic.org/roc-bio.htm
But be warned! Many of his rhymes are really, I mean really bawdy!
Ever since I saw Johnny Depp in the role of John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, I was totally blown away by this gripping, haunting, amusing and heartwrenching portrayal.
The historical John Wilmot (1 April 1647 - 26 July 1680) was an English libertine, a friend of King Charles II, and the writer of much satirical and bawdy poetry.
A patron of the arts, he was the toast of the Restoration court and had besides his wife many mistresses. Wilmot was also an infamous debauchee, and when he died at the age of 33, he had made himself that early end, drinking and shagging himself literally to death (it is said that he suffered from syphilis and other venereal diseases).
In the film "The Libertine" from 2004, based on the play by Stephen Jeffreys, the Earl starts the ride with a prologue in which he claims "You will not like me." He then makes some scandalous and nasty statements, to close his speech with the words: "This is it. That is my prologue. Nothing in rhyme. No protestations of modesty. You were not expecting that, I hope. I am John Wilmot. Second Earl of Rochester. And I do not want you to like me."
Oh dear. At least by now, I was totally sold. And at the end of the film I am always in tears; despite being a cynic, egoist spirit, Johnny lets the heart, the soul and the love of John Wilmot shine through. It is incredible.
Naturally, I tend to draw such characters sooner or later (this time it was later, since screencaps of the film are not very suitable as reference - too washed out or dark, so I went with the movie poster) and here you can see what I've made of the Earl:
Done with black and white pastels on velour-surface paper, 24 x 33 cm
In case you want to check out Rochester's poetry, you may go here: http://www.druidic.org/roc-bio.htm
But be warned! Many of his rhymes are really, I mean really bawdy!