Alexander Nowell

Alexander Nowell (1507?-1602) was an eminent puritan and Dean of St Paul's from 1560 where he preceded John Donne, Edward Alleyn's father-in-law. The painting may derive from an engraved portrait by Willem or Magdalena van de Passe in H. Holland's 'Herwlogia Anglica' of 1620. Other portraits of him at Oxford show a wide-brimmed black hat and a fishing rod in the background (referring to his reputation as a 'piscator hominum').