Portrait of Thomas Hobbes, John Michael Wright, 17th Century.

Portrait of Thomas Hobbes, John Michael Wright, Painting from National Portrait Gallery, London: NPG 225, 17th Century.

John Michael Wright’s portrait of Thomas Hobbes, which hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London, is one of the most widely circulated images of Hobbes. Here, we see the scholar in his maturity, depicted with pensive confidence, yet kindness. John Michael Wright served as a painter in the English Court both before and after the Restoration, and his portraits are largely executed in the Baroque Style, which foregrounded the effort of achieving emotional involvement between the viewer and the subject.