As seen by the picture above, the main guy is fully clothed in pretty awesome clothes if I do say so myself. However, the people around him are shirtless and have scraps for pants. In addition, the hatwear is noticably different as well.
The method of demonstrating status in this photo is through clothing. The individuals in the background are wearing only rags and cloths, but the man sitting in the middle of the image is dressed in garbs that look like they're for royalty, adorned with jewels, and a crown-looking headpiece. This must mean that he is a very important individual compared to the rest.
A commission is where the artist gets paid to create art and a patronage is when the artist gets financial support through other people to provide these artworks.
