'Sir Thomas More'
Sir Thomas More, 1527
Oil on oak panel, w60.3 cm x h74.9 cm (23.75" x 29.5")
The Frick Collection, New York City, NY USA
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And we come to portraits! This would be the genre with which I have the most hands-on experience, but that also means it will be coming up a lot independently in future, so I'll try to keep the screaming in your ear more focused for this week.
For 'traditional' portraits (or at least one strain of them, wherein important person gets depiction of their face + suggestions of their personal qualities and the reason for their status), the above may be the Platonic ideal. As in this painting may be literally perfect. If you don't know who the subject is, I'd suggest just looking at it for a few moments before going on to the context. See if you can guess what his role might have been, and what sort of character he had.
Ready? The context, from the Frick Collection's page for the piece:
"Thomas More...humanist scholar, author, and statesman, served Henry VIII as diplomatic envoy and Privy Councillor prior to his election as speaker of the House of Commons in 1523. The chain More wears in this portrait is an emblem of service to the King1, not of any specific office. In 1529 More [was appointed] Lord Chancellor, but three years later he resigned that office over the issue of Henry's divorce [note: this divorce was illegal and spiritually damning according to Catholic doctrine] from Catherine of Aragon, and subsequently he refused to subscribe to the Act of Supremacy making the King Head of the Church of England. For this he was convicted of high treason and beheaded. ...Holbein's sympathy of the man whose guest he was upon first arriving in England is apparent in the Frick portrait."More was known as (and to the best of our knowledge, actually was) a man of deep integrity, and was also a genuine friend to King Henry VIII (as much as he could be2). This painting was made about 8 years before More's execution, but part of why its reputation has endured is because you can already see a man of gentle resolution in Holbein's rendering. Almost at contrast with the rich trappings, there is an earnest authenticity to More's face and posture here; the mouth is relaxed, the shoulders and hands are relaxed, and yet there is slight tension to the lean, an intensity to the eyes, all of it speaking to a peaceful character that nevertheless will not be moved.
History conspired to give More a fate that amplifies this portrayal for us, but even if he had died peacefully at a ripe old age, it's hard to see how this painting wouldn't still "ring true" in a way both specific and universal. Not all portraits will be nearly this SERIOUS and IMPORTANT, and there are many other functions/types of portraits besides, but the specific/universal mix seen here is still, I think, the goal most portraitists aspire to with every single piece.
NOTES:
1. From Google's Cultural Institute: "The gold S-S chain was an emblem of service to the king. The letters stand for the motto Souvent me souvien, or, Think of me often."
2. For more about More's life and work, here's a pretty thorough biography.