Friday, January 07, 2005

The Ambassadors


Posted by Hello

Okay--here is a painting by Hans Holbein the younger of Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve. 15th Century. One was ambassador to France, and one to the vatican. It's pointed out the the broken lute string is a sign of possible religious discord. And then, and this is the best--the thing in between them on the floor is a skull! yes--a skull! You can't miss it. How freaky is that, though? When you stand to one side, it pops out, and is very obvious. Huge, even. But when you're not, when you're looking straight on, it seems to have nothing to do with the floor, almost as if it was painted later. Did one of these men die? Is it the painter's attempt at establishing the morality of these two self-important men? Did one kill the other one? And if so, which one? IT's time for some research. I think they were both in their late 20's when this was done. This is how pulp like the Da Vinci code gets started. Crazy.

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