'Jean de Dinteville and Georges de
Selve ('The Ambassadors')' 1533
Here we have a very unusual touch in
this painting. In the lower center of this painting is an
anamorphic rendering of a skull. namorphosis is a form of
perspective that obeys all the laws of perspective but
appears distorted on first glance. There is a view in
which the anamorphic rendering is rendered correctly.
This skull howver is an excepyion to the rule in that
while it was projected and traced by Holbein the lens was
shifted slightly causeing a slight distortion to the back
portion of the skull. (see Lawrence
Weschler)
From the British National Gallery
'The Ambassadors'
Full title: 'Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve
('The Ambassadors')'
1533
HOLBEIN the Younger, Hans
1497/8 - 1543
NG1314. Bought with contributions from
Charles Cotes, Lord Iveagh and Lord Rothschild, 1890.
This picture memorialises two wealthy, educated and
powerful young men. At the left is Jean de Dinteville,
aged 29, French ambassador to England in 1533. To the
right stands his friend, Georges de Selve, aged 25,
Bishop of Lavaur, who acted on several occasions as
ambassador to the Emperor, the Venetian Republic and the
Holy See.
The picture is in a tradition showing learned men with
books and instruments. The objects on the upper shelf
include a celestial globe, a portable sundial and various
other instruments used for understanding the heavens and
measuring time. Among the objects on the lower shelf is a
lute, a case of flutes, a hymn book, a book of arithmetic
and a terrestrial globe. Certain details could be
interpreted as references to contemporary religious
divisions. The broken lute string, for example, may
signify religious discord, while the Lutheran hymn book
may be a plea for Christian harmony.
In the foreground is the distorted image of a skull, a
symbol of mortality. When seen from a point to the right
of the picture the distortion is corrected.
Oil on oak 207 x 209.5 cm.
From the British National Gallery
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG1314
For Further Reading:
Thanks and best wishes,
J. Barry O'Connell Jr.
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