0:00:03.100,0:00:04.560
Art ...
0:00:04.570,0:00:06.460
ArtSleuth
0:00:12.170,0:00:13.640
Two men
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beside a set of shelves…
0:00:19.020,0:00:20.620
… littered with objects.
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A picture by Holbein!
0:00:25.150,0:00:27.310
At first sight, wealth,
0:00:27.310,0:00:28.080
power
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and arrogance personified.
0:00:29.840,0:00:32.060
But something jars!
0:00:32.060,0:00:34.950
This pale and threatening shape
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suspended below them ...
0:00:37.910,0:00:40.130
The first step towards deciphering the picture’s meaning
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is to look at it sideways;
0:00:43.710,0:00:46.750
when we do,
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the rich trappings fade out
0:00:50.480,0:00:53.840
- and the ultimate victor comes into focus!
0:00:56.060,0:00:58.760
Death eclipses everything!
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So what does this carefully constructed scene really mean?
0:01:08.600,0:01:11.000
These two men, are they trampling death underfoot
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- or is it preparing to seize them?
0:01:14.530,0:01:19.030
Episode 6: *The Ambassadors* by Hans Holbein [br]*Can death be defeated?*
0:01:19.760,0:01:21.330
Part 1: Death - the Invincible
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Trying to beat death?
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The two humans in the picture
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in their heavy clothing …
0:01:31.820,0:01:35.330
…and cluttered setting…
0:01:35.330,0:01:38.420
… with its jumble of motifs : do they look like winners?
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Their world seems artificial, ponderous and static …
0:01:46.880,0:01:49.740
… while death, by comparison, looks sleek and dynamic!
0:01:49.750,0:01:52.310
The only natural, non-fabricated object in the picture,
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the skull has its own special lighting, from the right …
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… and its own vigorous diagonal.
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Apparently wearing ...
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an ear-to-ear grin,
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it even seems to be the picture’s real hero!
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Initially, then, the moral seems obvious - and edifying:
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Death enters,
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and the world and its vanities simply disappear:
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neither wealth,
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power
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nor even knowledge
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can save us!
0:02:33.260,0:02:36.420
But the barely visible figure of Christ in the top left-hand corner
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reminds us that there is a second viewpoint,
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which wipes death itself from the picture.
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Holbein is using our physical movement, as we view his picture from different angles, ...
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to make us realise that we must move spiritually as well, ...
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as we turn away from the things of this world…
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towards God and salvation in the next.
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But that is not the Ambassadors’ only message!
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We must also move into the picture,
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immersing ourselves in its details,
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and particularly the sturdy, H-shaped set of shelves
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on which the two men are leaning.
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They seem to lord it over death
0:03:34.820,0:03:38.140
- but where does their self-assurance come from?
0:03:40.630,0:03:42.730
Part 2: *Death - and Politics*
0:03:45.550,0:03:48.560
1533: Two ambassadors …
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Both young:
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their ages are marked discreetly on a dagger,
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29…
0:03:56.260,0:03:57.060
and a book,
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25.
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Both French:
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they wear the insignia of the Order of St. Michael, instituted by the King of France
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And both sharing the same vision of diplomacy –
0:04:12.760,0:04:15.720
a vision symbolised on the shelves.
0:04:16.840,0:04:20.120
On the upper shelf, perfection - the divine order.
0:04:21.780,0:04:24.240
On the lower shelf, confusion - the worldly order,
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insecure and beset by evil omens:
0:04:27.780,0:04:32.100
The flute case with one flute missing
0:04:32.100,0:04:35.740
The broken lute-string
0:04:35.740,0:04:40.840
The arithmetical treatise open at “division”
0:04:40.840,0:04:44.320
And the topsy-turvy globe.
0:04:47.520,0:04:50.500
All of this reflects a major problem:[br]France...
0:04:50.500,0:04:52.200
...is Europe’s leading power...
0:04:52.200,0:04:53.160
...but the balance is now tipping in favour of...
0:04:53.160,0:04:55.080
...its rivals, and its very survival is at risk.
0:04:55.940,0:04:59.780
Portugal and Castille are building global empires.
0:05:02.480,0:05:06.560
With the Pope’s blessing, they are carving up the world and sharing it:
0:05:06.560,0:05:10.080
the new lands discovered east of this boundary go to Portugal,
0:05:10.080,0:05:12.760
those west of it to Spain.
0:05:14.380,0:05:18.340
To make things worse, Castille and Aragon are ruled by France’s hereditary enemy,
0:05:18.340,0:05:20.100
the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.
0:05:22.620,0:05:25.240
And the English still hold Calais.
0:05:26.140,0:05:30.240
In effect, France is surrounded all on all sides.
0:05:30.240,0:05:36.000
The Ambassadors’ job is to save it, and they hold four strong diplomatic cards to help them do that:
0:05:36.000,0:05:41.580
The first, symbolised by this hymn - the work of Luther, founder of Protestantism…
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… is the division of Christendom between Catholics and Protestants!
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By supporting the Protestant princes and towns, they can weaken the Empire,
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which is already fragmented into thousands of states.
0:05:55.960,0:05:59.220
The second is their contacts with the Muslim world,
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symbolised by this carpet.
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When Holbein paints his picture, the Ottomans have reached the gates of Vienna
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and are threatening Christendom.
0:06:06.640,0:06:09.680
But this doesn’t stop the ambassadors from [br]negotiating a treaty with them,
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and so forcing the Empire to move its forces east.
0:06:15.280,0:06:18.560
The third is the love-life of the King of England,
0:06:18.560,0:06:23.560
symbolised by this tiled floor, which replicates that in London’s Westminster Abbey.
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France has backed the King’s decision to repudiate his first wife,
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who has links with the Empire, and marry Anne Boleyn.
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This is its way of forestalling a possible alliance between England and the Empire.
0:06:48.320,0:06:52.100
In short, *the Ambassadors* embody a new religion:
0:06:52.160,0:06:55.020
a religion which allows a country to side with the enemies of Papacy,
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Christendom
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and Empire
0:06:58.180,0:07:00.920
whenever its own vital interests are at stake:
0:07:00.920,0:07:04.720
politics and raison d’état are its guiding principles.
0:07:05.100,0:07:06.880
The idea comes from Machiavelli’s *The Prince*,
0:07:06.880,0:07:10.280
which pre-dates *The Ambassadors* by one year
0:07:10.280,0:07:16.300
- and shows that politics follows rules of its own.
0:07:16.300,0:07:21.260
“*To maintain the state, the prince is often obliged to act in a manner contrary to humanity,* ...
0:07:21.260,0:07:25.060
*...charity and religion.*
0:07:25.060,0:07:28.700
*He should, whenever possible, follow the path of virtue, ...*
0:07:28.700,0:07:34.060
*...but should also be able, in case of necessity, to follow that of vice.*”
0:07:36.260,0:07:39.600
Essentially, *The Ambassadors* celebrates three kinds of movement:
0:07:39.600,0:07:42.240
-spiritual, as the converted believer...
0:07:42.240,0:07:45.580
...turns from the world and its vanities to God;
0:07:45.960,0:07:51.220
-diplomatic, as national envoys conjure peace from conflict;
0:07:51.280,0:07:52.660
-artistic,
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as Holbein gives us an illusion of reality
0:07:55.300,0:07:58.580
which comes and goes with our shifting viewpoint.
0:07:58.580,0:08:00.560
Life and death are intertwined:
0:08:00.560,0:08:02.200
we must face that fact
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or perish!
0:08:10.100,0:08:12.110
*The Ambassadors* holds more secrets...
0:08:12.110,0:08:15.180
Watch the film in its original long version [br](available on DVD and VOD)
0:08:15.180,0:08:20.410
Next episode: Bellini [br]*Beyond movement: the vitality of Nature*
0:08:20.410,0:08:26.550
For more information, visit www.canal-educatif.fr
0:08:26.550,0:08:29.550
Written and directed by:
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Produced by:
0:08:32.550,0:08:35.550
Funding: sponsors & public support
0:08:35.550,0:08:38.550
Voiceover:
0:08:38.550,0:08:41.550
Editing & motion graphics:
0:08:41.550,0:08:44.550
Extra editing / Sound recording
0:08:44.550,0:08:47.550
Musical selection:
0:08:47.550,0:08:50.550
Music
0:08:50.550,0:08:53.550
Special thanks: [br]English subtitles: Vincent Nash
0:08:53.550,0:08:56.500
A CED film