Portrait of Sir Thomas More

Holbein's Portrait of Sir Thomas More (1527) at the Frick Collection is one of the supreme masterpieces of European portraiture, depicting the Lord Chancellor and humanist martyr before the political crisis that would cost him his life. More, at the height of his power and influence in 1527, is presented with the formal dignity of high office and the intelligence of England's greatest humanist scholar — the man who had written Utopia, corresponded with Erasmus, and was about to become Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor. Holbein renders the fur collar, the gold chain, the intelligent eyes with a precision that goes beyond documentation to create a genuine monument to a man at the peak of his historical moment.

Holbein's meticulous Northern technique renders every detail of More's official costume with documentary precision, while the face reveals penetrating psychological insight beneath the formal composure.