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Lesson
Lesson 3. The hidden skull: Holbein's anamorphosis
Understand what anamorphosis is, and work out how Holbein hid a distorted skull — a memento mori — in “The Ambassadors.”
An image you have to view from the side
Anamorphosis
Anamorphosis is a deliberately distorted image that looks right only from a particular angle or in a special mirror. Look at it straight on and you see a puzzling smudge; step to the side, and the smudge “pulls together” into a recognizable object.
The most famous example is “The Ambassadors” by Hans Holbein the Younger (1533, the National Gallery, London). In it, two wealthy, self-assured men stand among objects of science and art: globes, books, musical instruments, scientific instruments. These are symbols of knowledge, power, and earthly achievement.
But at their feet lies a strange slanting smudge. If you approach the painting from the right side (or look at a reproduction at a sharp angle from the lower left), the smudge turns into a human skull. This is a hidden memento mori: amid all the glitter of earthly glory, the artist reminds us of death — but in a way that an ordinary straight-on look doesn't notice.
Lesson notes
Anamorphosis
Anamorphosis is a deliberately distorted image that looks right only from a particular angle or in a special mirror. Look at it straight on and you see a puzzling smudge; step to the side, and the smudge “pulls together” into a recognizable object.
The most famous example is “The Ambassadors” by Hans Holbein the Younger (1533, the National Gallery, London). In it, two wealthy, self-assured men stand among objects of science and art: globes, books, musical instruments, scientific instruments. These are symbols of knowledge, power, and earthly achievement.
But at their feet lies a strange slanting smudge. If you approach the painting from the right side (or look at a reproduction at a sharp angle from the lower left), the smudge turns into a human skull. This is a hidden memento mori: amid all the glitter of earthly glory, the artist reminds us of death — but in a way that an ordinary straight-on look doesn't notice.