The Ambassadors Painting Floor

Although the pope had.

The ambassadors painting floor.

Under the lower table one can just make out the left hand prong of the 6 sided star of david. The oil on oak portrait was made to hang in the halls of dinteville s home. To the right is his close friend georges de selve bishop of lavaur. The floor is an intricate mosaic floor based on the remarkable medieval floor of westminster abbey.

This portrait was painted at a time of religious upheaval in europe. For example a floor with a similar pattern can be seen in the sistine chapel perhaps significantly directly beneath michelangelo s creation of adam. The plumbline legends grew up about the ancient greek artist apelles and his contest with rival protogenes over who could paint the thinnest. It would be draped over a table as shown in the ambassadors to be displayed as a beautiful object to observe and delight in.

The ambassadors now lives in london. Occasionally such carpets are shown on the floor underneath the virgin mary to convey her elevated status as a holy figure. The artist s most iconic painting however eludes direct interpretation. We can find similar carpets in other renaissance paintings often draped over parapets or tables.

The ambassadors 1533 is a painting by hans holbein the younger also known as jean de dinteville and georges de selve it was created in the tudor period in the same year elizabeth i was born. Of course many sixteenth century portraits of learned men contain objects that reflect their occupations and interests but holbein s picture is particularly impressive owing to its extraordinary attention to detail and the sheer amount of information it contains. As well as being a portrait the ambassadors is also a still life painting featuring numerous meticulously rendered objects. No satisfactory explanation has been presented for holbein s inclusion of this detail in the painting.

Jean de dinteville the man on the left is shown on his second diplomatic mission to england on behalf of francis i king of france. Jean de dinteville and georges de selve 1533 also known as the ambassadors has been heavily scrutinized by centuries of historians the double portrait proudly displayed at london s national gallery remains a fascinating enigma within which every detail seems to suggest multiple meanings. As well as being a double portrait the painting contains a still life of several meticulously rendered objects the meaning of which is the cause of much debate. The pattern of the floor is not unique to the westminster abbey pavement.