The Ambassadors: Death and Deliverance

Self-portrait of Hans Holbein the Younger

Hans Holbein the Younger (c.1497-1543) is easily one of the greatest portrait painters of all time and is particularly remembered for the extreme detailing and deftness that his works portrayed. Coming from a family of painters, his father and brothers were all painters, the art came naturally to him. But while most of his family members were successes in their own country, Holbein was the one who crossed the seas and established himself as a central figure in an Europe that was experiencing the radical changes ushered in by the Renaissance and Reformation.

Born in Augsburg, Germany, Holbein moved to Basel in Switzerland as a young painter. In this newly developed but rapidly growing town, he soon came in contact with Desiderius Erasmus, one of the most celebrated scholars of the time. It was probably Erasmus who recommended Holbein to Tudor England and the court of Henry VIII. Holbein reached England in 1526 but had to return to Basel a year later to keep his citizenship. He left Basel and his family for good in 1532 and went to England where he stayed for the rest of his life.

Henry VIII

Europe was witnessing some dramatic events during this time, both at intellectual and spiritual levels. While the study of science was flourishing and exploration of the world was in full swing, Reformists like Martin Luther had raised serious questions about the church, papacy and Christianity at large. England was herself in a state of turmoil, as Henry VIII tried to secure a divorce form his wife, Catherine of Aragon, and in the process cut off all links with Rome. It is during such a time that Holbein was commissioned by Jean de Dinteville, the French ambassador to the British court, to make the painting. The other man in this double portrait is Georges de Selve, Bishop of Lavaur and a friend of Dinteville. It can be assumed that Selve's arrival in Britain had something to do with difficulties that his friend might have been facing in Henry VIII's court. The bishop will try to help his friend out in the court dealings.

A very first glance at the painting would reveal how detailed it is and with what painstaking accuracy has Holbein created the work.However, the painting does not reveal only the craftsmanship of Holbein, but it is also a great testament of the artist that he was. Its multiple layers of meaning, the various levels of the interpretation that it can be subjected to, all indicate that Holbein was truly a master of his art.

The Central Characters

The Ambassadors

As we have discussed earlier, the two main characters portrayed in the painting are that of Jean de Dinteville, the French ambassador to the British court and his friend Georges de Selve, Bishop of Lavaur. Since the painting was commissioned by Dinteville he is allowed more space in the painting.He is the more prominent figure and dominates the surface area. The figure of Georges appears to be slightly behind his friend and also occupies less space. Holbein's detailing is once again evident here. Dinteville is clutching an intricate dagger on which is age is inscribed – 29. George leans on a book which gives his age – 25. Between the two men, in the centre of the image is a celebration of the Renaissance world and the erudition of the two men.

The Objects

Left: The celestial globe Centre:The navigational instruments Right: The
terrestrial globe and musical instruments

At the top is a celestial globe of the stars and the heavens. Next to it are recently invented navigational tools. Down below is a terrestrial globe, with France clearly visible. Not only does this help to locate from where the subje

The Ambassadors (Holbein)

Now that we are finally done with our first post, it's time that we move on to our second (obviously). From movies we shift our focus to a painting. It's The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein.

This is how Wikipedia introduces the painting. "The Ambassadors (1533) is a painting by Hans Holbein the Younger in the National Gallery, London. As well as being a double portrait, the painting contains a still life of several meticulously rendered objects, the meaning of which is the cause of much debate. It is also a much-cited example of anamorphosis in painting." Read more here.

All I was reminded of when I saw the painting was the poem My Last Duchess by Robert Browning. I hope I gain a better understanding of the painting in a few days time. Let's wait to see what we come up with.

The Three Colours - Souvik's Post

Krzysztof Kieślowski has been one of the most influential directors of our times and having now watched both his Decalogue and The Three Colours, it is not difficult to understand why. Beyond being the master storyteller that he is, his compassion and understanding of his films' characters, and humanity at large, gives a soul to all his works, that breathes and connects with the audience.

The three colours of the French flag, and what they represent, sets the theme for the trilogy. Each film has a distinct colour tone to it and even without seeing the title credits it will not be difficult for viewers to recognise which part of the trilogy they are watching. Blue starts with a sequence of a car crash where everything is blue - the gift wrap that the girl is holding on to, the dresses she and the boy are wearing, the car, the sky and even the streets and grass seem eerily blue. In White, the court building that Karol enters into is imposingly white; the countryside where the thugs dump Karol later again is sterile white; yet inviting for him. The final part of the trilogy is splattered with red imagery, from the giant blown up poster of Valentine to the red furnishings of the bowling alley where she goes to play.

Beyond the tonal quality of the movies, Kieślowski also uses specific objects in each of the films that come back time and again throughout each of the movies. In Blue, a lamp shade with blue beads keeps coming back linking numerous events. In White, the siver 2 franc coin and the white Roman bust of a lady keeps recurring. Red has images of Auguste's scarlet jeep and the distinctly red French Oak wooden door of the retired judge Joseph Kern. Above all of these recurring images is that of elderly people trying to recycle bottles. This imagery cuts across the three movies and in each of the movies the characters react differently to this, And the way they react mirror the theme of each of these movies - liberty, equality and fraternity.

Liberty

The film sets out with a definite imagery of traps. After the accident Julie is trapped in a car; she is rescued but is then treated in a hospital which again seems to bound her; her effort to commit suicide is the ultimate attempt to break free, to break the shackles of life. The film also establishes pretty early that Julie had little love left for her husband. Her reaction to her husband's death is muted; she is saddened by the loss of her daughter. When she watches the funeral on television, she touches on screen only the coffin of the girl and not of her husband's. In fact, when she decides to live life on her own terms, she chooses to use her maiden name. The tragic event, in a strange twist of fate, brings in a liberating effect to her life. She now chooses what to do and what not to. However, memories and people from her past life keep coming back. Her passion for music almost drags her back to her old life when she tries to provide inputs for one of her husband's monumental unfinished work. She also gets to learn about her husband's mistress and tracks her down. But its not long before she understands the complexities of the life left behind and soon distances herself again. She lets go of pride, fame, recognition and riches. She chooses liberty.

Equality

In White, Karol seems to have lost everything at the very start of the movie. He loses his wife since he cannot consummate their marriage; he loses his shelter and livelihood when his wife throws her out of their salon; and he loses his right to stay on in Paris being no longer married to a French woman. He sees himself as unequal, as a misfit. And then his journey begins to not only be equal to his wife Dominique, but be one better. He gets into shady dealings to amass enough wealth that will attract his estranged wife. After he has made love to her, he is happy that she moaned louder than she did earlier when she was with another man. And eventually by getting Dominique arrested for his murder his effort to get back on to level terms is complete.

Fraternity

The theme of brotherhood and compassion is all pervasive in Red. This film also begins by challenging the notion of fraternity. We find a retired judge who regularly taps into his neighbours' phone calls to listen in on their conversations. And while he tries to defend his actions at the beginning, Valentine's influence on him slowly changes the way he looked at the world. He confesses to the police risking humiliation and personal security. We see his window panes are being stoned down, and his neighbours being generally apprehensive of him. But Kern his happy. While as a judge he did what was right. He again gathered the courage to do the right. And in that he becomes one with his community, and the world he lives in.

The Three Colours - Riya's Post

I had decided not to read up much on the trilogy, but I ended up going through Wikipedia, and found this:

As Kieślowski noted in an interview with an Oxford University student newspaper, “The words [liberté, egalité, fraternité] are French because the money [to fund the films] is French. If the money had been of a different nationality we would have titled the films differently, or they might have had a different cultural connotation. But the films would probably have been the same.”

Kieślowski’s comment interested me immensely, and I decided to try and validate it, instead of writing something about the themes and motifs, or trying to critically analyze the films. For your information, the Indian tricolour consists of saffron (courage and sacrifice), white (truth and purity), and green (peace and prosperity).
-

Saffron

Neela shut her eyes as she put away his manuscript. It was supposed to be his fourth novel. It will never be anything anymore. She had ignored all calls from Penguin—she did not want any part in this strange grief that had overwhelmed the Indian literary world ever since the accident. She still felt the existence of two solid voids in her heart, ever since the car had rammed into the tree. She could not forget the large trunk that loomed right ahead, and then the darkness, and then a few broken bones, and the bad news. Ashim’s shirts had been neatly arranged on the bed, Tutun’s toys too. She was giving it all away. Summoning all the courage needed to pursue liberty, she was moving to Shantiniketan—a quiet getaway, for the rest of her life.

“Amitava Chatterjee has agreed to finish Ashim Choudhury’s unfinished novel.  We have tried contacting Neelima Choudhury ever since the tragic loss…”, her television spoilt Neela’s quiet existence. She clutched the rich saffron curtains and buried her head into them. The last month flashed before her eyes. She had found out about Subhomita—smart, tall, pretty, and pregnant with Ashim’s child. She had paid to send her out of town and have the baby. She had promised the child a good future—Ashim’s money would go to it, once it was born. “There is no greatness in this”, she thought, “I am just letting go. I have not sacrificed earlier. I am not doing it now.”

______________

“I am going to kill Nolini off. Then her half-brother will inherit her property”, barked Amitava on the phone.

“I wouldn’t do that. Let her live. That way you could work on her relationships, instead of making it all about property”, Neela breathed into the phone.

“Neela, either I will write it in my own way, or you can finish writing Ashim’s novel. You can tell them that you can write as well, or that you have been writing all this time, with Ashim…”

“I am sorry, you write as you please!”

______________

The novel would be released in another five minutes. Neela was in the front seat in her bright orange Baluchari. Amitava was walking up the dais. She heard some faint mumbling, an announcement, some more mumbling, applause…and her world gradually blurred before her eyes.

White

Saiful had no means to return to Bangladesh. He roamed Howrah trying to formulate a plan. He had lost his passport; he had lost everything he had gained from this country. Sumita wanted to have nothing to do with him. They had spent the last two months roaming the lovely streets of Kolkata. His meager savings had begun to run out by the time they took their vacation to Mondarmoni. And then he had proposed marriage. They would run her small beauty-parlour together, he had said. She could not take care of a penniless man, she had announced the next morning, and she had thrown him out, quite unceremoniously.

He remembered the day he had met her in Cox’s Bazar. She was in a white salwar-kameez. He recollected her words—“Saiful, come visit me in Kolkata, please”. It was hard to fall out of love with her. It was harder to forget their days in Mondarmoni. In his heart, their love was still pure, and still as true as it had seemed earlier.

And then he met Asif. Asif had a quick eye for people in trouble. He had spotted Saiful, smoking a cheap cigarette at a dingy old corner of the busy railway station, with ease. “Don’t you worry about your passport Saifulbhai”, Asif had said with a twinkle in his eyes, “You are going to help me deliver a few packages, and I’ll help you get home.”

______________

Saiful sent a copy of his will and a letter to Sumita. She was to inherit 7 lakh Rupees—all his earnings from his new “delivery” business. Saiful watched as she wept over his grave. His plan flashed before his eyes. As she would retire in her room rented by Asif, he would pay her a visit, explain how he is rich now and wants her back, relive their passionate night in Mondarmoni, and put her to a peaceful sleep. The next morning she would wake up to an empty room, and the Bangladeshi police would soon detain her, charging her with his murder. He had a lot of money, so her motive wouldn’t be hard to figure out. Then, in the darkness of the night, he would walk up near the window of her prison cell, and they would look at one another again, like their very first pure glance of true love, and tears would roll down his cheeks...

Green

SCREECH! Luxmi applied the brakes on her cycle, but slightly late. The dog’s leg had started bleeding. There was no time to waste. Ignoring the hastily-scribbled-on tag around the animal’s neck, Luxmi rushed her to the nearest vet she knew. “She is going to have babies”, smiled the vet.

______________

“Mr. Narayanan, I think this is your dog”…Luxmi had showed herself in because the door was wide open. The dog’s owner seemed uninterested in the dog, or the accident, or the fact that it was to have babies. “You can keep her, and do not close the door when you leave. I want some peace and quiet now.” Luxmi was ready to step out. She had a great liking for dogs, and none for grumpy old men. But, she happened to notice a set of binoculars and some large camera lenses—all arranged neatly by the windowsill. “Are you…spying…on your neighbours?” she heard herself blurt out.

Luxmi was doing something she had never imagined in her wildest dreams—she was listening to an unknown man pouring his heart out, as if in confession. But she could not move. His story was enticing. A judge once, he had sentenced a man to lifetime in prison—incidentally the man had once run away with a girl he loved. Earlier in his career he let a guilty man go scot-free, by mistake. The man went on to have a family, and lived a prosperous life. Judge Narayanan wondered how his verdicts might have positively, or adversely affected the victims. Yes, they were but victims of his judgement. Seeking inner peace, he bid his prosperous career goodbye, and decided to watch those around him, without playing any part in their lives. Luxmi heard him talk about Karthik and Rajni—the young boyfriend and girlfriend who lived in the neighbourhood. Rajni was cheating on him, but Karthik had no idea. Luxmi left the apartment in a daze—her mind full of stories Mr. Narayanan had uncovered with his optical instruments. “I think I feel pity for you, or disgust, or maybe nothing at all…but you should stop peeping into other people’s private lives”, she had said. Reclining slowly on his dull green sofa, the ex-judge had smiled and said “Leave the door open as you go.”

______________

A month had passed. Mr. Narayanan and Luxmi had formed a strange bond between themselves. The old man had given up his lenses, and found a little peace in life. The dog had had seven puppies. Luxmi visited him one morning to inform the old man that she would be going to Mumbai. She had found work there, and was to stay with a relative. They bade each other goodbye, with promises of phone calls and letters.

______________

The news of the air crash hit Mr Narayanan like a bolt. There was seven survivors, blared the TV. “The survivors are Neelima and Amitava Chatterjee, who were travelling for a nationwide book-launch for Penguin, Sumita and Saiful Islam, a couple on holiday, Rupert Brown, an employee of Air India travelling on official purposes, and Karthik Dhamodaran and Luxmi George, both youngsters from Bangalore who were travelling to join their new jobs in Mumbai.” Mr. Narayanan dropped on his sofa, as tears of relief escaped his eyes.

_______________________________________________

Let the scavenging begin!

Our first topic of discussion will be the trilogy, The Three Colours. For the Wikipedia article on it, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Colors_Trilogy.

For knowing our valuable ideas and comments instead of, or in addition to whatever you can find on the net, please wait till Tuesday EOD (pardon the corporate-sector influenced dry abbreviations. And no, you are not stupid if you do not know what EOD stands for. In fact, you are better than the morons who know it.)

Till Tuesday, goodbye, and have a great week.

P.S. This blog is the brainchild of Souvik and Riya - friends whose brains connect quite often.