Sir Thomas More and His Family is a lost painting by Hans Holbein the Younger, created circa 1527 during Holbein’s first visit to England. The work depicted the noted statesman and scholar Sir Thomas More, his immediate family, and other members of his household. While the original painting was destroyed in a fire in 1752, at Schloss Kremsier (Kroměříž Castle), the Moravian residence of Carl von Liechtenstein, Archbishop of Olmutz, its composition is known through a number of surviving copies and studies. The painting is known for demonstrating the interplay of Sir Thomas More's private and public life.
Background and commission Hans Holbein the Younger moved to England in 1526-28 from Basle, Switzerland. On Holbein's first visit to England, he carried a letter of introduction from the Dutch humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam introducing him to scholar and statesman Sir Thomas More. More commissioned Hans Holbein the Younger for a group portrait of his family. Holbein’s portrait of More and his family is considered one of his most significant English works, reflecting both his technical skill and the intellectual values of More’s household. The portrait was commissioned at a time when More was serving as Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII and is thought to represent the family’s piety, learning, and civic responsibility—core values of Renaissance humanism. More later became known as a Catholic martyr after his execution in 1535 due to his refusal to accept Henry VIII as head of the church.
Description and composition The painting depicted Sir Thomas More surrounded by his family in a domestic setting, an innovative composition for its time. The figures are arranged in what art historian Roy Strong described as a "conversation piece," with each family member shown engaging in intellectual or scholarly activities. This format, where subjects interact with each other rather than the viewer, was ahead of its time and became a model for future English portraiture. Holbein’s precise and naturalistic style captured not only physical likenesses but also the personalities and inner lives of his subjects.
In Holbein's sketch, Thomas More sits surrounded by his family, who are, from left to right: his daughter Elizabeth, his adopted daughter Margaret Giggs, his father Sir John, sitting next to Thomas, behind whom stand his daughter-in-law Anne Cresacre and his son John, More's heir; the three women seated on the right are his youngest daughter Cecily, his daughter Margaret and his wife Alice, up whose skirt is climbing a tame monkey. Finally, standing by the exit, on the right, is Henry Patenson (or Patensen), the jester in the family's service. The arrangement of the characters is slightly different in Lockey's first copy, and it is likely that this and other differences had already been inserted in Holbein's original painting, partly at the request of the patron.
Overall, the composition produces a centrifugal effect from the point where Thomas More and his father are placed towards the lateral parts, dominated by the more lively female world. The clock hanging in a central position, already present in the drawing, provides a symmetry that in the lost painting increased the effect of magnificence, as is evident through the Lockey copies.
In particular, the artist may have interpreted an epistle entitled "portrait" and sent by Erasmus to Ulrich von Hutten eight years earlier, in which More's characteristics and the curiosities of his family entourage are described, such as his love for animals and the movements of the monkey. Similarly, Henry's presence would confirm the humanist's sympathy for clowns and jokes. Holbein seems to have captured the warmth and intimacy of the family environment, whose concentration would represent the true subject of the painting. The connection with Erasmus' letter is parallel to a new conception of portraiture, understood as a pictorial equivalent of biography, different from the conventions that had until then characterised the Renaissance ceremonial of this type of paintings.
The portrait would therefore constitute the first scene of English conversation ante litteram, due to the informal atmosphere and domestic setting that will be found only later, for example in the works of William Hogarth or Johann Zoffany. The hypothesis, advanced by some critics, that Holbein drew inspiration from Andrea Mantegna's Camera degli Sposi is not supported by documents that certify the artist's presence in Mantua. Furthermore, the narrative intent expressed by the fresco is different from that contained in Holbein's work, capable of reawakening in Erasmus the memory of distant friends.
The painting is a tribute to the intellectual profile not only of the humanist, but also of his family, represented as a sort of academy, in which women are treated equally. The musical instruments on the left, more visible in the painting than in the drawing, would indicate both the love of music and the harmony of the family. The books scattered on the floor could be understood in a similar way: perhaps a reference to the tendency towards disorder that Erasmus attributed to More, but more probably a tribute to the culture and passion for reading that unites the characters depicted. The hypothesis that it is instead a moment of prayer would not be reliable, or perhaps an initial setting later abandoned by the artist and the client, especially due to the desacralising presence of the monkey. As in Lockey's reproduction, in Holbein's lost painting it is likely that the books on the floor had already been replaced by the little dogs, which, together with the more disciplined monkey, help to provide a sense of order and better suit the solemnity of the portrait.
In any case, the painting is not intended to provide a simple fragment of the daily life of the More family, but rather presents a construction specifically designed to bring out hidden characteristics of the protagonists, in which even the objects convey refined symbolic allusions, now only partially understandable. This is demonstrated first of all by the absence of some of the relatives, who shared the same roof: an omission not due to incompatibility of character, but rather to dynastic needs, which exclude direct descendants, and which justify the decentralized position of More's wife. Furthermore, the posture and attitude of the latter evoke the atmosphere of a throne room, as does his clothing, which reproduces the official one of the single portraits. In this way the painter reproduces the social identity of the man, and not only his domestic reality. At the time, moreover, the difference between public and private profile was not as marked as it would become in the future, and this justifies the analogy between the two portraits, consistent with the Renaissance taste for ceremonial.
Destruction In 1752, the original painting was destroyed in a fire at Schloss Kremsier (Kroměříž Castle), the Moravian residence of Carl von Liechtenstein, archbishop of Olomouc. The fire also destroyed a significant number of other valuable artworks housed at the castle. The loss of Holbein’s original is considered a major cultural tragedy, as it was regarded as one of the finest examples of early English Renaissance portraiture.Guy, John (2009). ‘‘A Daughter’s Love: Thomas More and his Dearest Meg’’. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p.172.
Legacy Roy Strong, a prominent British art historian, called Sir Thomas More and His Family “arguably the greatest and most innovative work of [Holbein’s] English period.” Strong also described it as “the earliest portrait conversation piece in English painting, at least a century ahead of its time,” and noted that “its destruction means we lost the greatest single visual artefact to epitomize the aims and ideals of the early Renaissance in England.”
Despite the loss, the painting has left a lasting impact on the development of portraiture, particularly in England. Its composition, focusing on intellectual and familial relationships, set a precedent for future depictions of domestic life. The portrait continues to be referenced in discussions of Renaissance art and the portrayal of humanist ideals.
Cultural influences
The painting is described in Wolf Hall, a historical novel by Hilary Mantel about the rise to power of Thomas Cromwell that won the 2009 Man Booker Prize:
Surviving copies and versions Although the original painting was destroyed, several sixteenth-century copies and Holbien's annotated preparatory sketches have survived. One of the most notable copies was produced by Rowland Lockey (active 1593-1616) in 1592. Lockey’s versions, held in collections such as Nostell Priory, the V&A and the National Portrait Gallery, provide valuable insights into Holbein’s composition. These copies closely follow the original design, with slight variations in the arrangement of the figures and details of the setting.
A preparatory drawing by Holbein for the painting, now in the collection of the Kunstmuseum Basel Switzerland (Kupferstichkabinett Inv. 1662.31), also survives. This study offers a glimpse of Holbein’s creative process and the care he took in capturing the likenesses of More’s family.
Two studies exist of More at Windsor. There are also six surviving head studies of connected with the family group. There are also large portraits of More alone, likely made for Holbein's single portrait of Thomas More. Holbein or More sent a small preparatory drawing to Erasmus, which survives.
Rowland Lockey's reproductions Rowland Lockey was a painter and goldsmith who was active from 1593-1616. He mainly worked as a copyist of earlier portraits. In 1590 Thomas More II acquired Hans Holbein's original painting Sir Thomas More and Family (1527-8). More II then commissioned Rowland Lockey to make three versions of the painting- a copy of the original (now at Nostell Priory), and two of More II's own family. The National Portrait Gallery owns the larger picture, while the Victoria and Albert Museum has the miniature version.
Nostell Priory version The painting at Nostell Priory is more or less an exact reproduction of Holbein's original. Holbein's destroyed eighteenth century portrait was copied by Lockey at Nostell Priory, Yorkshire. The version at Nostell Priory is described as "the only faithful, same-size representation of the lost original" and is inscribed “Rolandus Lockey/fecit a.d." dated 1592.National Trust: Sir Thomas More and his Family (after Hans Holbein the Younger) It includes other members of his household: More's secretary peeking through a door, his "fool" and his pet monkey.
A new figure has been added, perhaps at the request of Thomas More himself: the secretary John Harris, who peeps out from the entrance on the right. His presence further emphasizes the intellectual inclinations of the family, and at the same time better balances the composition of the painting. Like the jester, Harris is a faithful employee of the humanist, who will have no reason to appear in subsequent versions of the portrait. Both reproductions commissioned by Thomas More's nephew also remodel the family group as a whole, eliminating all those who are not direct blood relatives. Anne Cresacre, the mother of Thomas More II, appears only in the 1593 painting: her portrait in the portrait hangs on the wall on the right, and the face of the young woman from the time of the sketch obviously gives way to that of an older matron.
It is unclear who the artist was, who commissioned it or who originally owned it. A radiocarbon dating test was carried out on 1982 which concluded the flax to be no later than 1520. For this reason, it is highly likely that it predates The National Portrait Gallery's Roland Lockey version of 1593. Lockey was known as an excellent copyist, but his sitters' faces are lacking subtle character details.