It is not uncommon in Art History to find artistic decisions that immortalize the gesture of the creator, often transcending the original context of the work. In 1533, Hans Holbein (1497/8-1543) completed the famous painting The Ambassadors, a work that still intrigues its audience today. Holbein subverts the classical rules of painting by introducing, into a composition that exalts knowledge and science in a sober and academic universe, an unusual symbol that disturbs it. The vanitas, occupying a large area of the lower part of the canvas, evokes the ephemerality of life and the inevitability of death, and instigates a premonition—a reminder of the transience of reality, even for those who master earthly knowledge, as is the case with the portrayed subjects.
