In the "Annals", Tacitus further improved the style of portraiture that he had used so well in the "Historiae". Perhaps the best portrait is that of Tiberius, portrayed in an indirect way, painted progressively during the course of a narrative, with observations and commentary along the way filling in details. Tacitus portrays both Tiberius and Nero as tyrants who caused fear in their subjects. But while he views Tiberius as someone who had once been a great man, Tacitus considers Nero as simply despicable.