Art Review – Hans Holbein The Younger – The Ambassadors

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At first glance this 1533 portrait of two highly wealthy Tudor gentlemen looks straight-forward enough. Their names were Jean De Dinterville, and Bishop Georges De Selve. They were ambassadors and emissaries of the Catholic Church visiting Henry 8th to try unsuccessfully to head off his break from Catholicism to bring England into the Protestant Reformation. Look more closely though and you pick up on the paintings rich symbolism and famous use of a startling optical illusion. The symbols are Christian and pagan, with hymn books, sun dials, broken musical instruments, etc. The really weird touch however is the elongated shape on the carpet. Look at it slightly sideways and you see it is a human death skull, known as a memento mori, a reminder of our impending death). Despite their power and wealthy trappings, the visitors and their faith are doomed as are we all. Such a cheerful topic. Arthur Chappell