The picture above shows/kloc-holbein, a famous portrait painter in the 6th century. Born in augsburg, he was one of the representatives of the Northern Renaissance.

Holbein Jr. used to be Martin? The works of famous humanists such as Luther and Erasmus are all illustrated. Later, I met Thomas on the recommendation of Erasmus? Moore. From 1526, young holbein moved to England and painted many portraits of Henry VIII and other British nobles. He died in London on 1543 at the age of 45.

Regarding the mysterious ambassador, the first thing to answer is the identity of the two people in the painting.

More than 300 years after holbein finished this painting, two men in gorgeous clothes were slowly worn away by time, and no one knew who they were. After decades of research, art historians in the19th century speculated that the classmate on the left was Jean de Dinteville, a very powerful member of the cult, and the local bishop george szell was on the right.

Jean dantville

George szell Fu

Their faces are calm and mature, but they are still young. Holbein cleverly hides their age in the painting:

Dantville is holding a dagger, and Cerf is holding a book under his arm. These two objects are symbols of body and mind in the Renaissance, and they also echo their careers. After zooming in, you can see that the number on the scabbard is "29" and the number on the edge of the book is "25", which is their age at that time.

Details about age

Dantville and CERF are not English. They are all French diplomatic ambassadors. The purpose of this trip is related to the great event of Henry VIII-

Henry VIII filed a divorce with the church on the grounds that Queen Catherine failed to give birth to a male heir, which was opposed. 1533, he married anne boleyn, who had been in contact for a long time, without the permission of the Pope. The Vatican was very angry and expelled Henry VIII from the church. The burly king of England did not show weakness. He immediately announced his departure from the Vatican and initiated the religious reform.

Portrait of Henry VIII holbein

History has proved that this reform triggered by cheating has changed the history of England forever-Henry VIII became the highest religious leader in England and carried out a comprehensive reform of the country. The economic situation, political system, culture and thought of the whole society have undergone tremendous changes.

In addition, his daughter was born a few months later and was later called Elizabeth I. Her appearance opened a new chapter for the Queen's administration.

Lutqin

Such a big incident has aroused the vigilance of European countries, especially France. They have sent two ambassadors to Britain to lobby Henry VIII to seriously consider leaving the Vatican.

Unfortunately, it failed. Holbein, who depicts every detail, will certainly not ignore the background of the times. He used the broken lute on the table to describe the disharmony of the negotiations:

A broken lute

The prototype of the lute can be traced back to ancient Egypt. It was introduced to Europe by Arabs in the 9th century and became popular during the Renaissance.

This beautifully shaped instrument often appears in paintings. On the one hand, it is a symbol of elegance and harmony, on the other hand, it is a prop for painters to show off their use of perspective skills. The famous Bos and Caravaggio both painted.

In fact, there is not only a pipa in this painting, but also a pipa under the desk. The black pipa, with its back facing upwards, is hidden in the shadow, which not only shows holbein's exquisite painting skills, but also increases the depth of the space, killing two birds with one stone.

Pipa under the desk

The objects placed on the desktop and the second floor of the painting are also very particular, which gather the latest scientific and technological achievements of the Renaissance.

The upper layer is dominated by astronomical tools, from left to right are celestial sphere and cylinder (guǐ? ), cosmological dichotomy, Shibungi, polyhedral sundial and ecliptic. Modern scholars have found that these objects accurately recorded the exact time when holbein started painting this painting: 1533 April 1 1 morning 10: 30.

Desktop project

The second floor owner should be used in real life. Besides the globe and pipa, there is also a business arithmetic book with a folding ruler.

So far, the four skills-arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music, which originated in ancient Greece and continued into the Renaissance, have been fully displayed. It is no accident that they appeared between the two ambassadors, in order to show that the two ambassadors are knowledgeable. There is a saying in China that astronomy is above and geography below.

Two-story article

So, where are the eggs and secrets of this painting?

Looking at the upper left corner, the silver cross of Jesus' crucifixion is so hidden that Henry VIII is imperative for religious reform. Indeed, in 1534, he issued the supreme decree, which prompted the parliament to pass the decree on religious reform. After the reform, the Church of England was completely out of the control of the Pope, and the king was both a secular leader and a religious leader.

Silver cross medal

Another egg is a signature.

It is hidden in the shadow on the far left of the picture, and it can't be seen clearly without light. In fact, holbein rarely left his name on his works. Ambassadors may have signatures for two reasons. First, his good friend Dantville entrusted him to sign this painting to show his respect, and second, he really wanted future generations to know the origin of this painting. ...

Holbein's signature.

Next, there is the secret in the painting-two skeletons.

The painting "The Messenger" is more than two meters high, and the characters in the painting are roughly the same size as real people. If you look closely, you will find the skeleton metal ornaments on Dante's hat. As for the reasons, opinions vary. Some scholars speculate that this image reflects a certain mystical tendency in him, while others think it is just an ornament.

The skull on the hat

There is also a skeleton, in front of the photo.

Don't be surprised if you don't find it. This painting has not been found for more than ten years since it entered the museum. An inspector found this photo in his daily inspection. He praised himself for a long time in shock and joy, just like your mood now. ...

Skeleton in the foreground

This skeleton needs a specific perspective-stand on the right side of the painting and look down-if you haven't seen it clearly, I'll give you another perspective:

Skeleton in the foreground

The skeleton image in painting is very common, and its most intuitive meaning is the symbol of death.

In addition, psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan once analyzed it from another angle and put forward a famous "squint view": images are deceptive, and we can only see the skeleton at the bottom of the picture through squint, just as the truth of the subject can only be obtained through squint.

Correction skeleton

But neither the symbol of death nor strabismus seems to answer holbein's real intention.

He converted the skeleton into a two-dimensional image and put it in the three-dimensional space of the picture. At the same time, he set a specific perspective. Such a big skeleton is in the foreground, but it is hard to find.

As for why it exists in this form, we can only guess. Of course, the most mindless answer is to show off your skills. ...

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