Portrait of a nobleman, half-length, in a fur-trimmed coat and pink silk doublet, holding a pair of gloves

When this portrait was included in the exhibition of Tudor portraits held at The New Gallery in London in 1890, it was attributed to Hans Holbein and identified as a Spanish Nobleman. Scholars now consider the work to be by a painter active in the Southern Netherlands in the first half of the sixteenth century, influenced by artists such as Joos van Cleve and Ambrosius Benson. Recent dendrochronological analysis of the Baltic oak panel has established a likely usage date of circa 1520 to 1530, which accords with the sitter’s dress, with his pink slashed doublet, fur over-mantle and soft black hat with a narrow brim, decorated with small gold ornaments and with a down-turned matching pink feather.

The tightly framed, front-facing pose was particularly favoured in northern European portraiture and maintained its popularity, gaining momentum in the 1530s and 40s. While the frontal view, of which Holbein seems to have been particularly fond, gave the impression of a direct confrontation intended to overawe and unnerve, it was also a particularly effective tool for individualisation and characterisation. While the identity of this sitter has been lost, judging from his attire, he was clearly a wealthy individual of the patrician classes. Clothes were of enormous importance to many sitters, some of whom spent immense sums of money on acquiring the finest garments, and like the present sitter, were anxious to show them off as symbols of their wealth and importance.