Sir Thomas More

1 portrait of Sir Thomas More

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Sir Thomas More

by Jacobus Houbraken, published by John & Paul Knapton, after Hans Holbein the Younger
line engraving, published 1741
14 3/4 in. x 9 1/4 in. (376 mm x 234 mm) plate size; 16 5/8 in. x 11 3/8 in. (423 mm x 290 mm) paper size
Reference Collection
NPG D39003

Sitterback to top

  • Sir Thomas More (1478-1535), Lord Chancellor; classical scholar; author of 'Utopia'; saint; canonised 1935. Sitter associated with 54 portraits.

Artistsback to top

  • Hans Holbein the Younger (1497 or 1498-1543), Painter, printmaker and designer; son of Hans Holbein the Elder. Artist or producer associated with 310 portraits, Sitter associated with 25 portraits.
  • Jacobus Houbraken (1698-1780), Engraver. Artist or producer associated with 435 portraits.
  • John & Paul Knapton (active 1735-1789), Booksellers and publishers. Artist or producer associated with 290 portraits.

Related worksback to top

Events of 1741back to top

Current affairs

Motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Robert Walpole is followed by a general election. Walpole's majority is reduced to less than twenty and he suffers defeat in seven divisions.
Opening of the Foundling Hospital, London, to aid homeless and abandoned children.

Art and science

Lancelot 'Capability' Brown is appointed head gardener at Stowe, where he works with the architect William Kent.
Actor David Garrick makes his debut on the London stage in Richard III.
Henry Fielding publishes An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews satirising Samuel Richardson's best-selling novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded.

International

War of the Austrian Succession: Admiral Edward Vernon leads an unsuccessful attack on Spanish stronghold of Cartagena. Frederick II's Prussian army defeats the Austrians at Mollwitz, securing his hold on most of Silesia. French and Bavarian forces enter Prague.
Composer Johann Sebastian Bach publishes his set of Goldberg Variations, supposedly written for performance by the young harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg.

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