
The Ambassadors
A double portrait with a skull that emerges from an oblique view.

Figures and clouds appear to overflow the ceiling’s golden frame.
Look at the figures that cross the gold border and the shadows that make them seem to project into the church.
Marie-Lan Nguyen
Original file & attribution · Public domain
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Download imageFigures and clouds appear to overflow the ceiling’s golden frame.
Look at the figures that cross the gold border and the shadows that make them seem to project into the church.
Painted shadows and foreshortened figures merge with sculpted decoration. The effect relies on the relationship between the image, its frame, and the real ceiling.