The Ambassadors: The Mysteries of Holbein’s Masterpiece

The Ambassadors: The Mysteries of Holbein’s Masterpiece | HENI Talks

Рет қаралды 36,968

6 жыл бұрын

Who were the two wealthy, educated and powerful-looking young gentlemen in Hans Holbein the Younger’s vast masterpiece? In 1890, when the National Gallery acquired what has become one of their most popular paintings, no one was quite sure.
They were also uncertain of what was meant by the array of cryptically arranged objects across the canvas- amongst them, a lute with a snapped string, a book of arithmetic, and a strange white form dominating the foreground that, when viewed at a particular angle, reveals itself to be a startling skull.
We now know that the men represent ambassadors Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve. However, the painting, wrought by King Henry VIII’s court painter in 1533, still holds many mysteries. Join expert Susan Foister at the gallery to decode some of the symbols in Holbein’s canvas which could point to the societal turmoil incited by the notorious Tudor King.
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Creative Commons and Crediting Additional Links:
Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan, in Mourning
Hans Holbein the Younger, c.1538
Collection of the National Gallery
© The National Gallery, London, 2018
(CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
creativecommons.org/licenses/...
An Allegory of the Old and New Testaments
Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533-1535
National Galleries of Scotland
Purchased by Private Treaty with the aid of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the National Heritage Purchase Grant (Scotland), 1981
Photographer: Antonia Reeve
www.nationalgalleries.org/art...
#Painting #Holbein #HENITalks

Пікірлер: 56

@dujeahmetovic1443 4 жыл бұрын

there it is...the universal S symbol...

@Jasondurgen 3 жыл бұрын

That elongated skull painted on the floor is possibly the sickest (coolest) thing I’ve ever seen in painting. Just to work out how you’d have to paint the skull in order for it to be viewed at such an extreme angle is a feat itself, let alone the rest of the piece. I’m a painter myself and strive for the day I can make a single masterpiece culminating all of my studies and practice into one ominous, provoking piece. This is one of my favorite paintings.

@VanessaDownen 3 жыл бұрын

I can't express in words how much I love this painting.

@michaelserfort8128 3 жыл бұрын

This painter cannot be weighed in gold ...impressive man !⚘

@pc1512 4 жыл бұрын

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. In wikipedia it suggests that perhaps the painting was designed to be hung on a staircase, and the skull would then be seen by people walking up or down. It ( the skull) is such an overwhelming part of the painting, it must have been requested by the person that commissioned it. Thanks for the wonderful video, and the presenter was very easy to listen to.

@HENITalks 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your kind words and extra insight!

@moblife8447 2 жыл бұрын

This painting is absolutely amazing. The detail and realism is fuckin unreal... For 600 years

@Saagemusic 4 жыл бұрын

This might be my most favorite piece of art in history

@HENITalks 4 жыл бұрын

It is a seminal work! Thank you for taking the time to watch our film on it.

@LucyWest370 3 жыл бұрын

It’s actually pretty good tbh

@0ninja213 4 жыл бұрын

The origin of the universal S

@barry.mccockiner 4 жыл бұрын

It also has the universal S

@afiqnaufal17_ 4 жыл бұрын

You can see the unique ‘s’ on the table

@HENITalks 4 жыл бұрын

An interesting point. What do you think this symbol means? Thanks for watching!

@afiqnaufal17_ 4 жыл бұрын

I absolutely have no idea

@stealtho 4 жыл бұрын

It doesn’t stop here, there’s more to it, some ancient archaeologists might even find that some cavemen drew it in a cave

@aureliorodriguez5136 4 жыл бұрын

@@HENITalks It possibly means the infinite, the Oroboros, the archetypal eternal cicle of birth and death. It is located at the center of the two standing figures that represent cosmic dualism. All the instruments laid on this carpet are used to observe regularities and to mark cycles in space and time.

@aureliorodriguez5136 4 жыл бұрын

It possibly means the infinite, the Oroboros, the archetypal eternal cicle of birth and death. It is located at the center of the two standing figures that represent cosmic dualism. All the instruments laid on this carpet are used to observe regularities and to mark cycles in space and time.

@silvasilvasilva 5 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, great talk. I hope more people discover this channel.

@filmauge16zu9 3 жыл бұрын

Let's get to the skull. The skull in the picture is distorted and shows a discrepancy. If we want to remove the distortion in the image, we need to push the skull together vertically. The moment the shape of the skull returns to normal and the two figures follow the correction, the lovers get so close that they embrace each other. We see no secrets here... just love.

@grandebolivia3299 3 жыл бұрын

Beautifully explained, thank you!

@jeanbat9475 4 жыл бұрын

Splendid pictures and very interesting explanations !

@nicocervantes9507 4 жыл бұрын

This is such an engrossing overview. You just got a new subscriber!

@HENITalks 4 жыл бұрын

Brilliant - so great to hear you you enjoyed the film. Stay tuned for more exciting insights!

@krzysztofzpucka7220 2 жыл бұрын

"For the ancient sciences, transmitted under the veil of various emblems, are answerable to the science of Diplomatics and are presented with a double meaning, one apparent and understandable by everyone (exoteric), the other, hidden, accessible only to initiates (esoteric)." INRI Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum Igne Natura Renovatur Integra

@Chaosmosis 5 жыл бұрын

The perspective is unique and dominating.....as is the color.

@HENITalks 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for taking the time to engage with our films!

@Rodoriginal101 3 жыл бұрын

The perspective on death. It is hidden in plain sight.

@siam9914 4 жыл бұрын

Came here for the S

@LucyWest370 3 жыл бұрын

Sssssss

@filmauge16zu9 3 жыл бұрын

Although the picture shows the southern European, Italian tradition of same-sex male friendship, the symbolism of the picture follows the German tradition of engagement or marriage portraits. With all the symbolism, the couple shows in an unusual way that they are not only sexually connected, "as was customary in a male friendship at court," but that they are also connected emotionally. The picture is a declaration of love and symbolizes that this is above a reneissance homoerotic friendship. All this is a clear and not a secret symbolism of this time period.

@beness_pro9229 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks alot. I passed my exams after watching

@HENITalks 4 жыл бұрын

That's so great to hear! Congratulations on your result. I hope you enjoy our other films too.

@HomebrandFishfood 3 жыл бұрын

Nice video

@desktop_fiend 4 жыл бұрын

0:31

@NikoHermogenes 3 жыл бұрын

i want to believe the universal Symbol has a secret meaning

@CrazyxPineapple 4 жыл бұрын

What Id like to know is, if the French ambassador was against King Henry breaking away from the Catholic Church, then why did he commission a painting where the crucifix is symbolically hidden away and the hymn book which has a prayer written by Martin Luther front and centre?

@shatterstone3045 3 жыл бұрын

0:30 The Universal S

@Oddbox 3 жыл бұрын

There it is... The universal s

@christianhennessey1191 Жыл бұрын

The National Gallery no longer explains the skull being visible from the side. Odd.

@spookeylordzey8432 4 жыл бұрын

The universal S

@robertschoennauer9040 4 жыл бұрын

0:30 ...THE STUSSY S

@stealtho 2 жыл бұрын

Man this dude is ok he said susssy

@Rodoriginal101 3 жыл бұрын

6:36 Divide and conquer in a nutshell.

@maryammalik664 2 жыл бұрын

I’m only here because of homework 😵

@brochanteur8253 3 жыл бұрын

.Bonjour,j,ai découvert ce tableau,au cour de mon exerce ,un expert en histoire de l,art,me l,ayant présenté par l,entremise d,un livre .Cet homme m,a expliqué, qu,il lui était impossible d,entrer dans le cercle des experts Parisiens ,parce qu,il venait de province .Simplement en premier ,ce qu,il m,a montré,c,est[ l,anamorphose ],mot qui n,est pratiquement jamais utilisé ,par les différentes personnes présentant ce tableau .Chacun,parle d,avantage de l,aspect (histoire). La prestation de cette Dame ,est de qualité ;je vais me renseigner,pour savoir si ce tableau a été l,objet d,un doctorat en histoire de l,art .La dizaines de vidéo ,traitant de ce tableau ,nous parlent d,avantage de l,histoire ,plutôt que de l,histoire de la peinture .Peut être ,feu professeur J.-E Berger?Merci pour votre partage ,Dame expert ,Susan Foister.Vous remerciant cordialement .