The Potions Master

Harry Potter's first glimpse of Professor Snape is of a man ‘with greasy black hair, a hooked nose and sallow skin’. In this portrait by Jim Kay, Snape looks listlessly down at something out of sight, with half a sneer contorting one side of his face. The bottled mole signifies his role as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix, while the lilies by his hands represent his enduring love for Harry's mother, Lily. The scissors refer to Sectumsempra, the Dark Magic spell Snape had invented. A snake pattern decorates his shirt, while a snake clasp pins his cloak at the neck. His green cravat and the table top echo the colour of his house, Slytherin. J.K. Rowling has explained elsewhere that, in the novels, Dark Magic is often represented by the colour green.

PORTRAIT OF PROFESSOR SEVERUS SNAPE BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury Press

“This formal portrait captures the sneering Professor Snape that Harry so mistrusts in the first book, but the objects scattered in front of him hint at his complex character and his role in the stories.”

Joanna Norledge
Curator

At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had got the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he’d been wrong. Snape didn’t dislike Harry – he HATED him.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone