Portrait Miniatures: Tiny Windows to the Past · Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex

Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex

Title: Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex
Creator: Holbein, Hans; Holbein, Hans, 1497?-1543; Hans Holbein the Younger
Date: c. 1532-1533
Description: This portrait of Thomas Cromwell may be one of the first miniatures Holbein painted. Cromwell is pictured in profile, wearing a brown coat and hat. It was made during his second visit to England in 1532 when Cromwell was advancing as a trusted councillor of the king. The mount has been cut from a playing card of the suit of spades. This portrait is mounted in the same case as another, later, miniature of Cromwell.
Subject: miniatures (paintings); Cromwell, Thomas, Earl of Essex, 1485?-1540; Thomas Cromwell
has style period: Tudor
Medium: watercolor (paint); vellum (parchment)
diameter: 1 3/4 in. (44 mm)
Coverage: England
Provenance: Purchased with help from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund, 1994
Rights: National Portrait Gallery, London
Identifier: NPG 6310