KEITH CHRISTIANSEN: As Maryan Ainsworth explains, Hans Holbein has identified both his authorship of this painting and the identity of his sitter.

MARYAN AINSWORTH: If you look closely on the book at the lower left, the initials H.H. appear on the cover of the book. And then, if you look even more closely on the man's left hand is a signet ring. And on it is the coat of arms that allows us to identify him as a member of the Wedigh family.

KEITH CHRISTIANSEN: The date 1532 and the sitter’s age—twenty-nine—suggest that he is probably Hermann Wedigh III, a German merchant working in London. That’s where Holbein, although German-born, spent most of his career, becoming the most distinguished portrait painter at the court of Henry VIII. Here he captures Wedigh’s penetrating gaze and a strong sense of his physical presence. The book has a piece of paper with a Latin phrase that translates “truth breeds hatred.” It’s a saying that must have resonated at the perilous court of Henry VIII, where speaking the truth could land you in prison—or worse.

MARYAN AINSWORTH: We can surmise, I think, that the book and its inserted paper probably point to Hermann Wedigh as having humanist interests and being very much engaged in these dialogues of the day. I think we could say that this is certainly not a casual portrait. It's a formal portrait, but the sitter is viewed with some kind of understanding of his introspection. He's a thinking man. He's a discerning man. And the way he’s presented behind a green-covered table with a humanist book at the left. These are all the accouterments of a man who is at the upper levels of society and who is an intellectual as well as a simple businessman.