Now take a look at Holbein's Nicholas Kratzer, painted in 1528 which is in the Louvre (copy in National Portrait Gallery). Kratzer was a German mathematician, astronomer and instrument maker who worked as King Henry VIII's astrologer. He was a drinking friend of Holbein. Find his picture in the Wikepedia entry for Nicholas Kratzer.
Holbein was probably using Kratzer's instruments in the Ambassador's picture, which was painted a few years later in 1533. Same shepherd's dial, same strange instrument, same polyhedral dial (but unfinished), same little dial-like thing with the spike and square hole on his table. Best regards Kevin Karney Freedom Cottage, Llandogo, Monmouth NP25 4TP, Wales, UK 51° 44' N 2° 41' W Zone 0 + 44 1594 530 595 On 4 Feb 2011, at 07:59, [email protected] wrote: > > After only recently learning of the Google Art Project, I looked at Holbein's > Ambassadors today and like many others I was amazed at the resolution. This > huge painting, it's not far off 7ft square, is here in London at the National > Gallery and it is now available to view under Google's Art Project at: > > http://www.googleartproject.com/museums/nationalgallery/the-ambassadors > > Painted in 1533 it has the most interesting collection of contemporary > dialling equipment all of which are painted in immense detail. There are two > globes (one terrestrial and one celestial), a quadrant, a torquetum, a > polyhedral dial and a shepherd's dial and some others I don't know, all of > which are set in such a way as to tell some 'story' to the understanding > viewer. > > Until now it has been almost impossible for a sundial-interested visitor to > the gallery to attempt to understand much of the detail - there just isn't > time - but now with this view you can. You can even see for yourself the four > place names marked on the terrestrial globe (one of which helped to identify > one of the depicted persons as Jean de Dinteville, the Seigneur of Polisy) > and you can even read the music and words in the open book and guess at the > date and time shown on the shepherd's dial.. > > It doesn't (I think) help with viewing the anamorphic skull as a skull - or > at least you still have to turn your monitor round to do so! - and I STILL > don't understand the object behind the shepherd's dial... Anybody know what > that might be? > > Patrick > > > --------------------------------------------------- > https://lists.uni-koeln.de/mailman/listinfo/sundial >
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