“Sir Thomas More”
This brilliant visionary feat is by the German Northern Renaissance artist, Hans Holbein the Younger, from 1527. This portrait, titled “Sir Thomas More”, is an oil on oak painting that dates to the days of the Tudor Court in England. Holbein’s close attention to the most minute detail, from the red velvet sleeves, the fur collar, down to the stubble on More’s chin, is so exact and precise that this piece is still such a marvel to look at today.
At the time of the painting, Thomas More, the noted Humanist, was a knighted speaker in the English Parliament. At the suggestion of Desiderius Erasmus, Holbein had just moved to England in 1526, where he had befriended More and became included in his political circle. The golden S chain around More’s neck symbolizes his service to the king. From it hangs the Tudor Rose, a traditional emblem of England that at the time had been in use since Henry VII.
Sir Thomas More is remembered as a Renaissance Humanist scholar and author whose most notable work was the book, Utopia. He also served as a counselor to Henry VIII for over ten years. Unfortunately, he abhorred the “heretic” Protestants so much that he burned them at the stake, along with other unsavory punishments.
More was convicted of high treason and beheaded at Tower Hill on July 6, 1535, for his refusal to accept King Henry VIII as the Supreme Head of the Church of England, remaining loyal to the Pope. More was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1935 for his opposition to the Protestant Reformation and is therefore now known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More.
The portrait of “Sir Thomas More” is currently in the collections of the Frick Collection in New York City, in the United States.
For more on Hans Holbein the Younger, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
