The Ambassadors

Hans Holbein the Younger

1533 · Oil on oak · National Gallery, London

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

The Ambassadors

Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan

Edward VI as a Child

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

Choose different prints →

Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

Secure checkout via Stripe

About this work

Artist: Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–1543)
Year: 1533
Medium: Oil on oak
Original size: 207 × 209 cm
Collection: National Gallery, London
Movement: Northern Renaissance

Two young Frenchmen stand life-size on either side of a two-tiered stand: on the left Jean de Dinteville, the French ambassador to England, in a pink satin doublet and a black coat lined with lynx fur, and on the right his friend Georges de Selve, Bishop of Lavaur, in a dark robe. The upper shelf holds a celestial globe and instruments for measuring the heavens and time; the lower holds a terrestrial globe, a lute with a broken string, a case of flutes and a hymnbook open at Lutheran hymns, objects often read as references to the religious discord of the time. Across the floor in the foreground lies a distorted skull, painted in anamorphic perspective so that it resolves only when seen from the side, and a small crucifix is half hidden behind the green curtain at the top left. Holbein painted it in London in 1533, the year Elizabeth I was born. The sitters were identified by Mary Hervey in 1900. It has been in the National Gallery, London, since 1890 and was restored in 1997.

This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

Two life-size men in black fur and pink satin before an emerald curtain, globes, a lute and instruments between them, for a study, library or living room at 24×36 in black. A deep green, charcoal or warm stone wall; it pairs with Las Meninas.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Exhibition poster of a Northern Renaissance painting
Era: 16th century (1533)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cream & beige
Mood: intimate
Rooms: living room, study or library, dining room, dorm room, hallway or entryway
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is The Ambassadors in the public domain?

Yes. Hans Holbein the Younger (1497–1543) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by National Gallery.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was The Ambassadors painted, and in what medium?

The Ambassadors dates from 1533 and was made in oil on oak; the original measures 207 × 209 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For The Ambassadors we'd choose 24×36.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Hans Holbein the Younger's The Ambassadors — the Ambassadors — two French envoys flanking a shelf of globes, instruments and a lute, a distorted skull across the floor — shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. Holbein: Portraits of the Tudor Age, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

Secure checkout. Payments handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card.

Also available as