Sir Thomas Smith
1621
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
About the artist
Artist
Simon van de Passe
Simon van de Passe (1595–1647) was an artist, born in Cologne.
See the richer artist page1621
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Sir Thomas Smith is a 1621 ink by Simon van de Passe, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This is a black-and-white portrait of a serious-looking man in a dark hat and ruffled collar. He’s holding a folded paper in one hand and resting his chin on the other. The background is plain, but the edges of the image are framed by a decorative border with Latin words like *"AURATA"* and *"VERA EFFIGIES."* The text below his face lists his titles—knight, ambassador, governor of trading companies—and the year *1616* is stamped in the corner. This suggests he was someone important in his time. If you like this style, look up engraving to see how artists carved these detailed prints.
Simon van de Passe (1595–1647) was an artist, born in Cologne.
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