Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein the Younger

Full artwork / 1600 x 1991 px

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Sir Thomas More

Thomas More sits before a folded green curtain, where a gold chain, fur collar, red velvet sleeves and compressed hands turn office and temperament into material evidence.

Living Canvas / Visual evidence

Sir Thomas More: Meaning, Symbols and Visual Analysis

Five regions connect face, curtain, gold chain, red velvet and closed hands to a Tudor portrait whose political authority is built through exact surfaces and controlled compression.

Date: 1527
Museum: The Frick Collection
Palette

Evidence 01 / Meaning1.90x

01 / 05

What remains debated

Evidence has limits.

Later knowledge of More's political and religious career can dominate interpretation. The painting itself securely documents costume, insignia, paper, pose and gaze; claims about conscience or future martyrdom require sources beyond the image.

Questions about this painting

Meaning without a thin page

What should I look at first in Sir Thomas More?

Begin with the face is exact but not transparent, then compare it with the green curtain closes the space and the chain turns office into a visible structure. The sequence moves from visible structure toward interpretation.

What does Sir Thomas More mean?

Verify / 02

Verify the object record

Titles, dates, media, dimensions, institutional identifiers and retained sources remain separate from interpretation so each fact can be checked independently.

Record completeness

Research ready

100%

Primary title: Sir Thomas More
Original title: Sir Thomas More
Creator: Hans Holbein the Younger
Date: 1527
Movement: Northern Renaissance
Object type: Painting
Medium: Oil on oak panel
Dimensions: 74.9 × 60.3 cm
Holding institution: The Frick Collection
Current location: The Frick Collection, New York
Accession number: 1912.1.77
Credit line: Henry Clay Frick Bequest
Attribution: Hans Holbein the Younger
Digital image: 1600 × 1991 px

Record control

Status: verified
Last verified: 2026-08-08
Verified by: SeePaintings editorial verification
Internal ID: holbein-sir-thomas-more

The Frick Collection object record and reproduction were matched to the pilot master by aspect ratio and structural image comparison before publication.

Open museum record

Provenance note

Entered the collection through the Henry Clay Frick Bequest.

Verification note

Title, date, medium, support, dimensions, accession number and credit line follow the museum's current online object record.

References

01Sir Thomas More · The Frick Collection

Image use and download

Work: public-domain
Digital image: terms-review-required
Checked: 2026-08-08

The underlying artwork is public domain; separate conditions may apply to the museum's digital reproduction.

Confirm the Frick Collection's current image permission terms before reuse.

Image source Download / IIIF

Compare / 03

Compare evidence, not just images

Set this work beside a related painting to test differences in date, artist, movement, subject, palette and visible evidence.

Open side-by-side comparison

same artist

The Ambassadors

Hans Holbein the Younger · 1533

Political identity, material precision and coded status

The single portrait and double portrait reveal how Holbein varies setting and objects while preserving exacting surface evidence.

Compare this pair

historical

Nicolaes Ruts

Rembrandt van Rijn · 1631

Public identity expressed through fur, hands and documents

The pairing compares Northern Renaissance linear precision with Rembrandt's selective illumination.

Compare this pair

Learn / 04

Follow this painting through the knowledge graph

Continue through artist, movement, subject, emotion, color and visual-analysis methods. Each destination adds independent context instead of repeating the same interpretation.

Analyze this painting Elements of art Composition guide Portraits Red paintings portrait Thomas More Tudor men politics Northern Renaissance

Historical significance

Why this work still matters

The portrait creates a focused counterpart to The Ambassadors: both make Northern Renaissance precision serve political identity, but this single sitter produces authority through compression and controlled tension.

Detail coordinates

Look more closely

01Follow the gold chain across the fur and locate its Tudor rose badge.
02Compare the angular face with the repeated curves of curtain and sleeves.
03Study the paper, ring and closed hands as separate clues to public identity.

Reuse / 05

Turn the record into a usable result

Carry the verified object identity into a citation, classroom worksheet or source trail. Reuse means research, teaching and creative reference, not merely downloading an image.