The Riddle of Holbein's "Ambassadors": Why the Painting Is Called a Mirror of Mortality and a Hidden Symbol of Hope

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Hans Holbein Jr., a German Catholic painter and court painter to King Henry VIII, told the world about the Tudor era with over 100 portraits. The work "Ambassadors" is filled with many hidden meanings. What is the main mystery of the Ambassadors?

Hans Holbein Jr. was undoubtedly one of the finest portrait painters of the Renaissance in Germany. Among his court customers were Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, King Henry and almost his entire family. In addition, Holbein enhanced his portraiture with numerous symbols, allusions and ironic motives. One of Holbein's greatest portrait paintings during his second visit to England was The Ambassadors, a double life-size portrait of the wealthy landowner Jean de Denteville, ambassador to the King of France and his friend Georges de Selva, Bishop Laurel.

The writing of the Ambassadors coincided with Henry VIII's break with Rome. There are two reasons for the gap. First, he decided to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (it was a dynastic marriage, designed to strengthen the alliance with Spain), and secondly, the formation of the English Protestant Church. In addition to his royal commissions, Holbein also wrote to numerous nobles and women, clergymen, landowners, and other personalities. A hundred years later, the Flemish virtuoso Anthony van Dyck followed Holbein's example and settled in England as Charles I's court painter.

The main idea of the picture

The work "Ambassadors" is filled with hidden meanings and symbolic features in the best traditions of the Northern Renaissance and the late 17th century Vanitas painting. The painting was commissioned by the young ambassador, Jean de Denteville, to commemorate the visit of his friend de Selve to London. The two men were on a difficult and ultimately unsuccessful diplomatic mission to heal the gap between Henry VIII and the Church of Rome, hence the title of the painting, The Ambassadors. Thus, the main theme of the picture is that no material wealth, strength or education can prevent death and the inevitable. In this case, the "inevitable" was the decision of Henry VIII to create his own Church.

"Ambassadors" is not only a portrait, but also a still life with many carefully drawn objects. Many portraits of 16th century scholars contain objects that reflect their professions and interests, but Holbein's painting is especially impressive for its extraordinary attention to detail and hidden information. However, the artist's most iconic painting defies direct interpretation. Jean de Denteville and Georges de Selves, also known as "Ambassadors", have been carefully studied by centuries of historians. To begin the impossible task of deciphering this almost life-size work, one must first try to understand the dangerously political world in which Holbein lived and his own complex biography.

Main figures

The depiction of the two characters is technically brilliant and symbolic. De Denteville, left, is dressed in sumptuous secular attire - an elaborate black robe with lynx fur over a pink silk cape. His hat features a skull, his personal insignia.

Bishop and classic scholar Georges de Selves, dressed in less ostentatious and modest clerical clothing (soon to be consecrated by the Bishop of Lavar, France), stands on the right side of the painting. It is noteworthy that it takes up less space. He spent most of his career trying in vain to stem the tide of Lutheran reform and reunite the Catholic Church. Some experts also point out that de Denteville's secular roots and de Selva's spiritual roots symbolize the dysfunctional nature of the alliance between France and the Vatican, as well as the general conflict between church (pope) and state (Henry VIII).

The personalities of the two figures are in contrast: de Denteville looks like a man of action, clutching a dagger, while de Selve places his hand on the book, indicating his contemplative nature. Both the dagger and the book are written in Latin with an age indication: 29 and 25 years, respectively. While they appear vital and young, these inscriptions add to their mortality, as does the skull brooch on Denteville's cap. In addition, the image of the lute with a broken thread (bottom shelf) is a popular symbol of discord, either reinforcing the idea of conflict between England and Rome, or hinting at a continental split between Protestants and Catholics.

Situation

The portrait setting is an area of relatively shallow depth, covered with green curtains adorned with intricate heraldic patterns. The floor is covered with mosaic tiles based on the Cosmati pavement design in front of the High Altar in Westminster Abbey, indicating the primacy of the English liturgy.

Objects and their symbols

On two shelves, standing between the two figures, are numerous objects with which the ambassadors and their era are associated. Items include two globes (one heavenly, one terrestrial), a quadrant, a torketum, a multifaceted sundial, a T-square, a book on German mathematics, and a book of Lutheran hymns. While these objects demonstrate Holbein's skill in depicting complex three-dimensional objects, their precise realism also has a metaphysical meaning. Texture images of fur, silk, wood and metal draw the viewer's attention to the material presence of the painting, aligning it with reality. Objects have a deep symbolic and allegorical meaning. It is quite possible to interpret their location as the celestial and terrestrial worlds. 1. The objects on the top shelf - the heavenly ball, sundial, and various other instruments used in astronomy and for measuring time - belong to the heavenly realm (another opinion is the level of paradise). 2. The globe, compass, lute, flute case, book of arithmetic, musical instruments, and an open hymnbook on the bottom shelf indicate earthly pursuits. 3. The lowest level in the painting - the skull as an attribute of death - is considered by many art critics to represent hell. The upright heroes surround this structure, linking them to the three kingdoms.

Holbein's great illusion - the main mystery of the picture

Historically, everyone who lived during the Renaissance in Europe was acutely aware of death, which was much more visible than it is today. Rampant epidemics of deadly diseases such as the plague were common (Holbein himself died of plague in London in 1543). The Ambassadors' most significant lethal sign is the illegible anamorphic skull that stretches across the lower center of the painting.

Anamorphosis is the depiction of an object in a way that deliberately distorts its perspective, requiring a specific vantage point in order to see it correctly. An example of anamorphic art dates from the 15th century and includes a sketch by Leonardo da Vinci, known today as "Leonardo's Eye". If you look at the "Ambassadors" from an acute angle, then the white and black spot that cuts through the lower part of the picture will become fully conscious. This anamorphic image will immediately become recognizable as a human skull - an eternal reminder of death and the fundamentally transient nature of human values.

The reasons for this illusion are currently not clear, but there are a number of assumptions. 1. Holbein may have originally placed this work next to a doorway in his castle, so that the viewer would be confronted with the grinning face of death as he walked by. The futility of being and death. The artist reminds his audience: "Remember that you will die." It is a reminder of the inevitable human mortality and a means of encouraging viewers to reject earthly temptations. But his distortion here suggests other symbolic readings. The skull metaphorically shades the center of the world as it (literally) covers the middle circle of the floor drawing. Moreover, the promising experiment draws attention to the limitations of human vision and makes viewers question their place in the world.

Political subtext

Holbein wrote The Ambassadors during a particularly tense period, marked by the rivalry between the kings of England and France, the Roman emperor and the pope. In addition, the French Church was divided over the Reformation. Religious and political strife is reflected in the details of the painting: ⦁ The crucifix is half hidden by a green curtain in the upper left corner of the painting, symbolizing the division of the church. The broken thread on the lute symbolizes church disharmony during the Reformation. An open music book next to the lute was named a Lutheran hymn, and the math book is open to a section page that begins with the word "Dividirt" ("Let It Divide").

Symbol of hope

Despite the clear sign of death - the skull and many of the political attributes of the division of the Church - the artist gives the audience hope. In the upper left corner, partially hidden by an emerald green background, there is a crucifixion - resurrection, God's promise of eternal life to believers. (The atonement of Christ is also mentioned in the cylindrical sundial, which is set for April 11, the date of Good Friday in 1533.) According to the scholar Keith Bomford, Holbein's portrait, as a "mirror of mortality", provides eternal glory to ambassadors, as well as the salvation they deserve. virtuous friendship.