The Ambassadors (Holbein) viewer must approach the painting from high on the right side, or low on the left side, to see the form as an accurate rendering of a human skull. While the skull is evidently intended as a "vanitas" or "memento mori", it is unclear why Holbein gave it such prominence in this painting. One possibility is that this painting represents three levels: the heavens (as portrayed by the astrolabe and other objects on the upper shelf), the living world (as evidenced by books and a musical instrument on the lower shelf), and death (signified by the skull). It has also
Hans Holbein the Younger For the guildhall of the Steelyard, Holbein painted the monumental allegories "The Triumph of Wealth" and "The Triumph of Poverty", both now lost. The merchants also commissioned a street tableau of Mount Parnassus for Anne Boleyn's coronation eve procession of 31 May 1533. Holbein also portrayed various courtiers, landowners, and visitors during this time, and his most famous painting of the period was "The Ambassadors". This life-sized panel portrays Jean de Dinteville, an ambassador of Francis I of France in 1533, and Georges de Selve, Bishop of Lavaur who visited London the same year. The work incorporates symbols and paradoxes,