Sir Thomas More (1478–1535), Reformation Martyr, Lord Chancellor (1529–1532)

This portrait of Sir Thomas More, attributed to Holbein's tradition and identified with the Reformation Martyr and Lord Chancellor, reflects the continuing demand for images of a figure whose significance extended far beyond Tudor England. More's execution in 1535 for refusing to acknowledge Henry's supremacy over the Church made him the foremost English Catholic martyr, and his image circulated across Counter-Reformation Europe as a symbol of resistance to Protestant heresy. Holbein's original portrait of 1527 — with More in full chancellorial robes, the gold chain of office, the face of a man who has made his moral choice — became the foundation for all subsequent representations. This version belongs to the tradition of copies and adaptations that spread the image across European Catholic culture.

Holbein's characteristically precise drawing defines the sitter's features with the clarity of a miniaturist working on a larger scale. Every detail of costume and physiognomy is recorded with the Northern European commitment to descriptive accuracy that made Holbein the supreme portrait painter of the Tudor court.