A "Reading" of

The Ambassadors

by Hans Holbein




Before reading on, look closely at the painting, then make a note of what you think the painting is about, what details of the painting you find most interesting, and what, if anything, it may remind you of.  

Four Questions to Ask When Looking at Paintings

Although we are going to begin by asking four questions about Hans Holbein’s The Ambassadors, this does not mean that there are only four questions. In fact, as we go along, you will find several more questions you can ask yourself when looking at a particular painting. But we need to begin somewhere and these four questions will help us to get off to a good start.  
The Four Questions
  If we ask these questions of the painting The Ambassadors, what answers do we get? Without doing any research, we could probably safely conclude the following--  
      • The purpose of this painting is, most likely, to create a portrait of the two men who must be (as we can guess from the title) pretty important.
      • We certainly learn that important men in this era (the Renaissance—go back and check on when the painting was done) wore clothing made of very expensive fabrics and furs.
      • This is a very realistic painting.
      • This painting is very balanced..
Each of these questions gets us thinking about the painting in more specific ways than we might do otherwise. The attempt to answer these questions may also make us curious to find out more about the painting. Here is some background information on the painting, the artist, and the era in which it was painted.   Hans Holbein and The Ambassadors Without a doubt one of the most interesting things about this painting is that it is almost life size—81½ by 82 ½ inches. That’s almost seven feet by seven feet. The gentleman on the left, Jean de Dinteville, commissioned Holbein to make this double portrait of himself and Georges de Selve, Bishop of Lavour.    Dinteville was the French ambassador to the Court of Henry VIII, King of England. He was sent by the King of France to calm the growing tensions between Henry and Pope Clement VII. The tension was caused by Henry’s desire to divorce Catherine of Aragon and to marry Anne Boleyn, a known Protestant sympathizer. At this time only the Pope could grant divorces. In order to marry Anne before she gave birth to their child, Henry created the Church of England and married her in secret. Although the Pope finally granted the divorce, the creation of the Church of England allowed for the continued spread of Protestantism in Europe.

 At this same time Dinteville’s friend, the Bishop, was visiting London on a secret mission from the King of France. Although the mission may have had to do with Henry’s marital problems, more likely de Selve was there to talk to Henry about creating an alliance among England, France, and the powerful Ottoman Empire.

 

The Symbols

 According to art historian Lisa Jardin, "Some of the issues associated with Jean de Dinteville’s ambassadorial mission in England are precisely figured in the painting in the conjunction of objects painted on the lower shelf of the piece of furniture on which he leans" (Worldly Goods 425). For example, if you look closely at the lute you will find it has one broken string. This symbolizes broken harmony or tension. The cause of the tension is represented by the open hymnal resting under the neck of the lute. The hymns that are showing are by Martin Luther, thus telling us that the "broken harmony" is "between the Protestant and Catholic churches" (426).

Since Henry’s problems with the Pope came about because of the Protestant Reformation (see below) and the split between the Lutherans and the Catholics "the broken string and hymnal seem an appropriate theme for Dinteville’s painting.

 However, other issues affecting Europe are also symbolized in The Ambassadors. The Reformation coincided in time with the opening of the Western Hemisphere to the Europeans (remember, in 1492, just 41 years earlier, Columbus had set sail for the New World). It also coincided with the spread of Renaissance ideals from Italy, the beginnings of the Scientific Revolution, and the rise of capitalism and the middle-class. Any one of these trends would have been significant, but taken together, these trends and new practices made for a rapidly changing and chaotic world. It is easy to understand why Holbein and his subjects would include so many references to what was going on around them. Again, Jardine--
 

 At the visual centre of Holbein’s The Ambassadors, an array of instruments and apparatus  for mastering the heavens and gaining precise knowledge of time and place, for navigating the globe and mapping and recording geographical findings claims the viewers attention (428). The cylindrical dial, for example, reveals that the date is April 11, 1533, and the sundial gives us two times, on one face 9:30 and 10:30 on the other. The quadrants were used for determining the angle and altitude of the sun from the horizon, which would also give a reading of the time.    If we return to the lower shelf, we find two other objects that also represent the spirit of science and exploration (as well as remind us of the tension in the world). "The markings on this globe continue the theme of discord--this time territorial. The globe is tipped away from the viewer, so that the names on it are upside down. However, significant names have been written so that the viewer reads them right way up…..The globe with its demarcation line, represents visually the contemporary contest between the major European powers for the commercially valuable territories…" (427).

 But the globe’s importance as a navigational tool is also suggested by placing it next to a book by Peter Apian-- A New and Well-Grounded Instruction in All Merchants’ Arithmetic. The new merchant class used this sort of book for calculating profit and loss. Placing it next to the globe reminds the viewer of the expanding markets Europeans were experiencing during the first half of the 1500’s. And for Holbein to include this author’s version of one of these books was appropriate, because "…Apian’s [book] was particularly resonant as a symbol of commercial learning, since his geometrical, astronomical, and navigational publications were a crucial part of the innovative work in these areas which was expanding commercial possibilities around the globe" (427).

  Jardine points out yet one more symbol of the tensions that filled the world of the 16th century. But this symbol also represented the newness of the commodity culture—
  The Ottoman rug which covers the upper shelf of the table in Holbein’s The Ambassadors, and links the resting arms (and perhaps the political intrigues) of de Dinteville and de Selve, reminds us that the power to be reckoned with in the 1530s, other than the Hapsburgs, was the Turks. It also reminds us what coveted items Ottoman commodities were in the circles in which Holbein and de Dinteville moved, worthy to be lovingly represented in a painting which celebrated the worldly success of the sitters (429).   In fact, the very clothing and accessories of the two men also celebrate their success. This painting may have symbolized the specific political and religious stresses of the time, but it also followed in the fairly new tradition of patrons hiring painters to create portraits that not only showed themselves but also a representative example of their possessions. [Click here for two other examples by Holbein--EXAMPLE ONE      EXAMPLE TWO]   Hans Holbein    Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543) was born in Augsburg, Bavaria. He received his early training in art from his father. But in 1515 the younger Holbein went to Basle, Switzerland, with his brother. While he was there, he met the famous Dutch humanist Erasmus, who befriended the young artist and asked him to illustrate his satire, The Praise of Folly. Holbein also illustrated Martin Luther's German translation of the Bible.

 By 1525 the division between the Protestants and Catholics caused by the Reformation made Basle a difficult place for Holbein to work. Carrying a letter of introduction from Erasmus to Sir Thomas More, Holbein set out for London. In 1528 he returned to Basle but in 1532 he moved permanently to London.

 In England, where he became part of Henry VIII’s court, Holbein was known chiefly as a painter of portraits. Portraits were regarded in the same way we regard photographs today—not so much as great art as a way of capturing a person’s likeness. It was not unusual for people to carry around small portraits of loved ones executed in oil paints on small pieces of wood-- much as we carry photos in our wallets and purses.

 Although his services as a portrait painter were in great demand, Holbein also found time to perform numerous services for Henry. He designed the king's state robes and made drawings that were the basis of all kinds of items used by the royal household, including buttons and bindings for books. In 1539, when Henry was thinking of marrying Anne of Cleves (he had apparently grown tired of Anne Bolyen), he sent Holbein to paint her portrait. In 1543 Holbein was in London working on another portrait of the king when he died of the plague.

 The Reformation

 Since the Reformation and the rise of Lutheranism figure so prominently in this painting, it is helpful to understand exactly what the Protestant Reformation was.

 For many years, clergymen and lay people had been upset with the lifestyle of the Pope and his bishops. The selling of indulgences particularly upset devout Catholics. Indulgences were pardons for sins given out by the Pope. Originally, these could be gotten only through good deeds for the Church. But for many years a succession of popes and bishops had been selling indulgences, allowing everyone from thieves to murderers to escape eternal damnation—for a price. Because of Martin Luther's stand on the indulgence controversy as well as the rapid circulation of his writings (thanks to the newly invented printing press), smoldering discontent with the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy ignited into raging flames. Luther was supported by a number of secular rulers, although this was mostly because of political reasons. But the people especially embraced his ideas and his theology was spread in Germany by numerous preachers. Other like-minded thinkers, such as John Calvin and Joseph Swingli, also called for reforms in the Church. Altogether these various leaders and their followers came to be united under the name Protestants.

 The Reformation ended the religious unity of Europe under Catholicism and, unfortunately, opened the doors to 150 years of bitter religious warfare. Finally, in 1555, the Religious Peace of Augsburg granted freedom of worship to the Protestants. However, by the time the conflicts had ended, the political and social geography of Western Europe had fundamentally changed.

 But how did the Reformation impact England? Essentially it proceeded in two distinct stages. The first was driven by King Henry VIII's desire to dump his wife Catherine in order to marry Anne Boleyn, who, as we have already learned, had Protestant leanings. The Pope obviously was reluctant to grant a divorce which would allow Henry to marry a Protestant sympathizer. This then put Henry in the awkward position that led to a break with Rome and the formation of the Church of England.
 

  Return to the Questions    Purpose-
Now we have a better sense of what the purpose of this painting might have been. The initial purpose was as a portrait of the two ambassadors. But beyond that we can also see that it also served the purpose of "explaining" how important the two men were and how they fit into the power struggle between Henry the VIII and the Pope.

 Cultural Information-
As for what the painting tells us about the culture in which it was produced, clearly we see that there was much interest in several fairly new practices. These practices were-- navigation and exploring, commercial ventures, and consumerism, all of which were either focused on or "advertisements" for another fairly new practice, the creation of wealth. Let us return to Jardine’s "reading" of the painting--
 

Alongside Jean de Dinteville, Georges de Selve’s presence in the double portrait registers the continuing diplomatic intrigues between the competing imperial powers in and beyond Europe, and the strong connection between these and the same powers’ commercial aspirations…. Their private dealings are recorded in the painting as a liaison whose purpose is secret, but whose connection with power and wealth is marked by the presence of the Ottoman rug and the German artefacts, whose exquisite beauty captures the onlooker’s attention at the expense of the sitters themselves. At the centre of the painting—where we might expect a Madonna, flanked by the two diplomats as her donors or saints—is a collection of valuable scientific instruments and desirable consumer objects or belongings.

 Holbein’s painting captured for all time the way the French Ambassador wished to be remembered by posterity, but it also celebrated the very achievements to which we still attach value in the late twentieth century. The artist has lavished infinite care on the surfaces of desirable objects—objects which are of great price, are things of beauty in themselves and are also masterpieces of technical skill. Prestige and power are represented by this accumulation of valuable goods, and by the sumptuous dress and nonchalantly self-centred pose of the sitters.

 ……There is nothing parochial about The Ambassadors—a painting of French aristocrats, executed in England by a German artist, and replete with allusions to commercial centres in Germany, Italy, and Istanbul, to intellectual developments in Nuremberg, Wittenberg, and London, to political exchanges between France, England, Germany, Venice, and Instanbul….. The world we inhabit today….is a world which was made in the Renaissance (435-6).
 

  How Realistic-
Again, this painting is very realistic. But not because it portrays two men who actually lived and refers to events that actually took place. When we talk about realism in a painting, we mean to what degree does it resemble life. This sort of realism runs a continuum from abstract (unreal) to photographic realism (most real)--that is, from shapes and colors on a surface which do not look like any person, place, or object all the way to paintings which are impossible to tell apart from a photograph. The Holbein painting, obviously, should be placed closer to the photo-realism end of the spectrum than to the Abstract end. Not only are the figures in the painting recognizable but they are extremely life-like. Not that we would mistake the painting for a photograph, but it is nearly the next best thing.

 Design Elements-
A very basic design element found in this painting is that of Balance. There are many things that effect a painting’s balance but one of the more important is the placement of the figures within the plane of the canvas. By placing the two figures the same distance from the middle of the canvas, Holbein keeps the painting in balance. This causes our eyes to stay more in the middle and pay more attention to the center area of the painting. In other words, there is no visual gesture which pulls our eyes to one side or the other.

 As Lisa Jardine remarked earlier, the "visual centre" of the painting contains the books, globes, and instruments—not the two men. By choosing to create an extremely balanced painting, Holbein made sure we pay attention to what he and his sitters want us to.
 

 
(last updated--2-6-99)