HEAVEN AND EARTH Holbein has always held a strong interest for me. I think two of his best pieces hang in the National Gallery. One, the double portrait of Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve, is a somber study of the two men surrounded by fascinating objects, rich in symbolic meaning. The strange elongated skull floating above the floor really captured my imagination when I saw it in London years ago. In the painting Heaven and Earth I chose to place it over a portion of Holbein's fabulous portrait of Christina of Denmark. I left off her head, replacing it with the skull. I also wanted to concentrate on her beautifully painted hands. This portrait was commissioned by King Henry VIII, designed to secure a marriage contract. She kept her head and declined his offer of marriage, an auspicious decision, as it turned out. In the painting Heaven and Earth I chose a blue background in reference to Holbein's portrait of King Henry VIII. Return to Icon Series home page |
HEAVEN AND EARTH |