There are two very similar circular portraits in existence of Wyat’s son, Sir Thomas Wyat, the younger, which bear so strong a likeness to the portraits of his father that at first sight they appear to have been painted from the same original. One of them was lent to the Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1909 (No. 48), by the Rt. Hon. Lewis Fry, and the other belongs to Lady Romney.[173] He is shown in profile, to the left, looking upwards, the neck cut off at the beginning of the shoulders, as in the portraits of his father, and wearing a slight, light brown moustache, pointed beard, and short hair. Lady Romney’s version is of the same size as the Cornelisz portrait, while Mr. Fry’s more nearly approaches that of the National Portrait Gallery and Oxford portraits of his father. Mr. Fry’s panel was once in the collection of Charles I, having his brand on the back, and it is possibly the portrait which was in the possession of John, Lord Lumley, in 1590. The “classical” treatment followed in the cutting short of the bare neck has led to the erroneous supposition that the portrait has reference to Wyat’s decapitation in 1554 for rebellion against Queen Mary. It is possible that these portraits of the younger Wyat are based on a lost original by Holbein. He was born in 1521, so that he would have been twenty-two at the time of Holbein’s death. Mr. Roger E. Fry sees in Mr. Lewis Fry’s version a predominant Flemish influence. “It remains,” he says, “one of the most inscrutable riddles of the exhibition. It is a work of such great technical excellence that its authorship ought to be discoverable. It seems probable that it was painted in England and from life.”[174]

The very interesting and beautiful portrait of a lady lent by Major Charles Palmer to the Royal Academy Winter Exhibition, 1907 (No. 13), and to the Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1909 (No. 64) (Pl. 15),[175] is now identified, with some degree of certainty, as a portrait of Sir Thomas Wyat the elder’s sister, Margaret Wyat, Lady Lee. This identification is based upon an enlarged version of the portrait in the possession of Viscount Dillon at Ditchley, Oxfordshire, which, according to family tradition, is said to represent that lady, who was the wife of Sir Anthony Lee, and the mother of Sir Henry Lee, K.G. She is shown at three-quarters length, three-quarters to the left. Her hair, of reddish gold, is almost hidden by her black and white French hood decorated with a band of pearls arranged in groups of four, alternating with small panels of gold filigree work. Her dress is of dark-brown damask, puffed at the shoulders, and ornamented with numerous gold tags or points, and a rose-coloured petticoat. Her hands are clasped in front of her, and she holds by a short ribbon a circular gold medallion on which is a figure of Lucrece above a dark oblong stone. On her right hand are two signet rings, one with a red and one with a dark stone. The dress, open at the neck, shows a white collar or lining, and white ruffles cover her wrists. A rose in red enamel is at her breast, and a gold chain round her neck. Across the plain dark green background is inscribed, “ETATIS·SVÆ·34.” It is on panel, 16½ in. × 12½ in. Her long, very sharp nose resembles that of her brother, and her complexion is of a somewhat unpleasant reddish tone. The drawing of the face, and particularly of the hands, is very delicate. It is now in the Collection of Mr. Benjamin Altman, New York.

Opinion, so far, is divided as to whether this fine work is by Holbein or not. The first impression received is that it is certainly not by him, from the flatness of the modelling of the face, a certain hardness in the execution, and the rather unpleasant red tone of the complexion; but further examination considerably modifies this opinion. It is difficult, if the attribution to Holbein is rejected, to suggest the name of any other artist then practising in England, who possessed the ability to produce a portrait as fine and as remarkable as this one is. To Sir Martin Conway “it appears to be obviously and all over Holbein.”[176] Mr. Roger E. Fry says that “opinion is so divided that it would be rash to dogmatize. The picture is in wonderful condition and is entirely in Holbein’s manner. Indeed, it must in any case be derived directly from a drawing by Holbein. The only question to be settled is whether the master himself ever became so entirely the craftsman absorbed in the technical perfection of his work to the exclusion of the larger issues of expression; whether he could have ever so far lost his sense of relief, treated line so entirely as a matter of edge with so little sense of the mass it should define. Such questions can only be decided by a gradual consensus of opinion. My own belief is that it will be decided ultimately against Holbein’s having actually executed the painting, though I am bound to admit no other known imitator comes as near to Holbein himself as does the author of this.”[177] Dr. Ganz regards it as a genuine work by Holbein, and dates it 1540, drawing attention to the similarity of the enamelled rose fastened to her dress to the one worn by Lady Butts, who was painted by Holbein at about that date.[178] It will be seen that the critics are divided; and it is certainly by no means easy to arrive at a definite conclusion. It is interesting to note, as a minor point, that the gold tags with which Lady Lee’s dress is decorated are very similar to those on the surcoat of Sir Thomas Wyat in the Lucas Cornelisz portrait, and are arranged in much the same manner.

The dated portraits of the year 1536 are only three, one of which, the Steelyard merchant, Derich Berck, has been already described.[179] The second is the portrait of Sir Richard Southwell in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence (Pl. 16),[180] of which there is an excellent replica in the Louvre. It was finished on the 10th July 1536, when Southwell was thirty-three years old. It is a small half-length figure, the face three-quarters to the right, wearing a black dress, open at the neck, with black satin sleeves, and a black cap with a circular gold medallion with a negro’s head carved in cornelian. His hands are folded, and he is wearing a gold ring with a green stone, and a gold chain round his neck. He is closely shaven, and his black hair, which partly covers his ears, is cut straight across the forehead. Across the plain dark green background is inscribed on either side of the head in gold lettering:

It is on an oak panel about 19 in. high × 14 in. wide. This is one of Holbein’s finest portraits of his second English period, and displays a very subtle insight into what must have been an unattractive and in many ways despicable nature. The small brown eyes have a look of cunning, and the face with its smooth fat cheeks has few pretensions to comeliness. Southwell was heir to great wealth, and was brought up with Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and was intimate with the family of the Duke of Norfolk. In 1531 he was obliged to pay a fine of £1000 before he could obtain pardon for being concerned in a murder, yet three years later he was Sheriff of Norfolk. From 1535 onwards he took an active share in the dissolution of the monasteries, and was in all ways a willing and able tool of his royal master. His treachery helped to bring Sir Thomas More to the scaffold, and, later on, he played an even more treacherous part at the trial of his early companion, the Earl of Surrey. He was knighted in 1542, and appointed one of the King’s executors, and under Queen Elizabeth he became Master of Ordnance. Something of his unsavoury character is suggested by Holbein in his portrait, which is distinguished by its remarkable individuality and its fine technical qualities both in the flesh painting, more particularly in the hands and the eyes, and in all the details of the costume. Nothing is known of the history of the picture except that it belonged to the Earl of Arundel, who presented it to Cosimo II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, in 1620,[181] as one of the best Holbeins in his collection. It is still in its seventeenth-century frame, with a silver tablet engraved with the arms of England and the Medici, and an inscription, “Effigies domini Ricardi Southwelli Equitis aurati, consiliarii privati Henrici VIII, Regis Angliae.—Opus celeberrimi artificis Johannis Holbieni pictoris Regis Henrici VIII.”

The replica in the Louvre (No. 2719)[182] corresponds in all its details with the Florence picture, and appears to be only a good old copy. It has on the back the seal of the Newton family, and was brought by Napoleon from Germany in 1806. Another copy was lent to the National Portrait Exhibition at South Kensington, 1866, by Mr. H. E. Chetwynd Stapylton. A portrait of Southwell, apparently based on Holbein’s picture, was lent to the Tudor Exhibition, 1890 (No. 217), by Mr. W. H. Romaine Walker. In this version Southwell’s coat of arms and the inscription “Copley Stili” are on the right-hand side of the background, and on the left “Richd. Southwell of Horsham St. Faith’s in Norfolk ÆT.95.” The age in this inscription is altogether wrong, for Southwell was fifty-seven at his death in 1561.

Holbein’s study for the portrait is one of the most remarkable among the Windsor drawings.[183] The head and shoulders only are shown, but otherwise it is almost identical with the Uffizi panel; even the four black buttons which stand out against the white shirt are indicated in the same position as in the finished work. It is inscribed “[A]NNO ETTATIS SVÆ 33,” and bears the note in Holbein’s own handwriting, “die augen ein wenig gelbass” (the eyes a little yellowish). This study, which is about 16 in. × 11 in., is in excellent condition.

The third portrait of 1536 represents Sir Thomas le Strange. It is on panel, 15¼ × 10½ in., and was exhibited at the Tudor Exhibition, 1890 (No. 113), and at the Burlington Fine Arts Club Exhibition, 1909 (No. 41), lent by Mr. Hamon le Strange.[184] It is a bust portrait, three-quarters to the left. The sitter has greyish hair cut straight across the forehead, and a short brown beard and moustache. His black cap has a number of gold tags and a medallion, and he wears a gown with a brown fur collar over a black dress, a pleated white collar from which long tags hang down, and a long gold chain over his shoulders. Across the top, on the green-blue background, is the repainted inscription “ANNO DE 1536 ÆTATIS SVÆ 43.” It has suffered considerable repainting about the face, but it is a picture of much interest, and since it was last exhibited has been acknowledged by most of the leading critics to be a genuine work by Holbein. The original drawing for this picture, which shows some slight differences, is in the Windsor collection.[185] Sir Thomas Strange or le Strange, of Hunstanton, Norfolk, was born in 1493, and entered the service of Henry VIII as esquire of the body, was knighted, and accompanied the king to the Field of the Cloth of Gold. He was High Sheriff of Norfolk in 1532, and died in 1545.

A small, undated bust portrait of Lady Vaux, wife of Thomas, second Lord Vaux, of Harrowden, the poet, has every appearance of belonging to this period. There are two versions of it, one in the Prague Gallery (No. 608),[186] and one at Hampton Court (No. 591 (337)).[187] Dr. Ganz regards both as old copies, but Sir Claude Phillips considers the former to be the original work by Holbein, and A. von Zahn says that it is indubitably original, but has suffered so severely and has been so heavily over-painted that little of Holbein’s handiwork is left. The Hampton Court version is the better of the two, and is apparently an excellent copy, though in technique of a somewhat later date.[188] It has been held, nevertheless, by most English writers to be a genuine but badly-damaged work of Holbein. The head has been repainted, which gives it that faded appearance noted by Mr. Wornum[189] and Dr. Waagen,[190] though the latter attributed it to “the attempt to give the refinements of the modelling in grey half-tones,” in doing which Holbein “sacrificed the warm local colours observable in his earlier pictures.” On the other hand, many of the accessories, such as the gold-and-enamel medallion, the chain round her neck, the ring, and the cuffs, display a delicacy of execution not easily attributable to anyone but Holbein. She is represented to the waist, almost full-face, the body turned slightly to the spectator’s left, and is dressed in black, with ermine upon the sleeves, and the customary diamond-shaped hood, edged with pearls, and with a black fall. She wears a thin black chain round her neck, and at her breast a circular brooch with a figure of the Virgin enthroned. Her hands rest in her lap, and in her right she holds a pink. It is on panel, 1 ft. 3 in. high by 11¼ in. wide. Mr. Law suggests that it is identical with “The picture of Madame de Vaux, by Holbein,” which was among the Duke of Buckingham’s pictures sent to be sold at Antwerp, whence it presumably returned with the “Dutch Gift,” and may, perhaps, be identified with No. 410 in James I’s catalogue, described as “One of King Henry VIII’s Queens, holding a gillyflower.”[191] There is a study for the head among the Windsor drawings,[192] in which the strengthening lines are exceptionally hard and pronounced, and mar an otherwise fine drawing. Holbein also painted her husband, though the picture has been lost, but the very beautiful drawing for it, described in a later chapter,[193] remains at Windsor. There is a second study of Lord Vaux by Holbein in the same collection.

The portrait of Sir Nicholas Carew, Henry’s Master of the Horse, was probably painted during the earlier years of Holbein’s second residence in London. It could not have been done later than 1537, for in 1538 Carew was thrown into prison for supposed connection with the conspiracy of Cardinal Pole and the Marquis of Exeter, and was beheaded on March 3rd, 1539. There is a brilliant study for this portrait in the Basel Gallery (Pl. 17), a drawing in black and coloured chalks.[194] He is wearing body armour, and has a short beard and moustache; his hair is concealed by a close-fitting coif, and there are an octagonal medallion and a white feather in his black cap. It is one of the most masterly drawings Holbein ever made, searching in its truth, and of exact and delicate draughtsmanship.[195] As it was included among the collection of works by Holbein formed by his friend and admirer, Bonifacius Amerbach, it may have been presented to the latter by the artist himself when he was in Basel in 1538.

The oil painting done from this study is in the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, K.G.,[196] and was last publicly exhibited at the Burlington Fine Arts Club in 1909 (No. 45). It is a three-quarters length, turned to the left as in the drawing. The beard is brown, and the coif below the black hat is of cloth of gold. The octagonal gold badge represents a tree stem raguly and a banderole inscribed “SOLA.” He is wearing full plate-armour, and brown trunks slashed with cloth of gold. With his right hand he holds a white truncheon against his hip, and with the other grasps his sword by the scabbard. The background is a green damask curtain, and on a small cartellino in the left-hand bottom corner is inscribed in a cursive hand “SR NICHOLAS CAREWE, MASTER OF THE HORSE TO KING HENRY YE 8.” It is on a panel of unusual shape, being 36 in. high by 40 in. wide. This picture, as a whole, is a fine and interesting example of Tudor portraiture, but parts of it are certainly not by Holbein. The head is good, but the armour and many of the details are by some other, and possibly a later, hand. The probabilities are that it was begun by Holbein and finished by someone else; perhaps the arrest of Carew may have brought the completion of the work to an abrupt conclusion as far as Holbein was concerned. The fact that his name is given on the cartellino suggests that the portrait may be a posthumous one. It was not the usual custom at that time to place more than the date and the age of the person depicted upon the panel. Except in the form of a superscription to a letter held by the sitter, as in the Kratzer, Cromwell, and some of the Steelyard portraits, Holbein was not in the habit of adding the name to the pictures he painted in England. The “Duchess of Milan” is an exception,[197] but even here there is every probability that the cartellino was painted in at a later date. It is difficult to decide whether the Carew portrait was begun by Holbein and finished by some other hand, or whether it is an almost contemporary copy from some lost original. The head follows the Basel drawing closely, but as the latter was owned by Amerbach it is improbable that a copyist could have made use of it; so that, taking all things into consideration, it is safer to assume that Holbein himself had a share in its painting.[198] This portrait was in the possession of John, Lord Lumley, in 1590, and was sold from Lumley Castle in 1785 for ten guineas. In the inventory of 1590 it is described as “Of Sr Nichls Carewe Mr of the horse to K:H:8”; and it is interesting to note that the words “drawne by Haunce Holbyn” are not added, as they are after several other works by the master which Lord Lumley possessed. It has been suggested that this portrait is the “Ritratto d’homo armato” of the Arundel inventory of 1655, but if the picture remained in the possession of the Lumley family until 1785 this supposition cannot be correct. Symonds, in his Note-Books, has an entry of “A Ritratto of an English knight by Holbein who sits in a chayre and a table by him,” in the collection of the Earl of Northumberland in Suffolk House, which seems to refer to this picture.[199]