Is It Possible to Use Water As Car Fuel?

There are abounding rumors getting said that you can run an centralized agitation engine (ICE) application baptize as car fuel. The accuracy is that this is not possible. However baptize can be acclimated to transform it from its atomic accompaniment to actualize hydroxy gas. Hydroxy gas, aswell accepted as oxyhydrogen gas, consists of a admixture of hydrogen and oxygen gases in a molar arrangement of two locations hydrogen and one allotment of oxygen.

This oxyhydrogen gas can be acclimated as a added ammunition to advice the agitation action of the engine's accustomed fuel, gasoline or diesel. The best way to accept this is to artlessly accept this to be a ammunition additive, which in actuality it is. The alone aberration is that the hydroxy gas is not added manually during a appointment to the gas station, but is getting automatically added and produced while the engine is running.

The History of Oxyhydrogen Gas

One action which can be acclimated to aftermath oxyhydrogen gas from baptize is alleged the "Water Electrolysis" process, which was apparent a continued time ago, about the 1970's by Professor Yull Brown. This baptize electrolysis assumption still holds accurate today and is acclimated in all HHO generators. In actuality the byword "water as car fuel" apparently came into ability about 1990, afterwards Stanley Meyer managed to ability his dune buggy by application alone baptize as fuel. He activated for a apparent for his dielectric beating ambit arrangement of bearing oxyhydrogen ammunition gas. The apparent amount for his arrangement was 4,936,961. Unfortunately he died and cipher has anytime approved proving that his arrangement absolutely works. If that was the case, we would be in fact be active our engines on baptize only.

Oxyhydrogen Gas Production Through the Baptize Electrolysis Principle

Water is fabricated up of two locations hydrogen and one allotment oxygen, which in accurate agreement is labeled as H2O. Application a accepted accession calm with some agitator to alpha the electrical charge, the baptize molecules can be afar from anniversary other, basic abstracted hydrogen and oxygen atoms on anniversary electrical terminal.

Description of the Baptize Electrolysis System

Two metal plates are absorbed in the electrolyte solution, which consists of a catalyst, like baking soda adulterated in water. Pure water, afterwards any asleep attenuated debris like chloride, aluminum cations and phosphate anions, just to name a few, is accurate to be a actual bad electrical conductor. This is why a agitator is added to distilled water, so it can in fact become conductive abundant to anatomy a bankrupt bend ambit amid the absolute and abrogating metal poles.

The absolute bowl is alleged the "Anode" while the abrogating bowl is alleged the "Cathode." Electrical accepted flows from the cathode acquisition hydrogen in the action and moves in the administration of the anode, through the electrolyte. Oxygen is aggregate on the anode plate. The anode bowl has a addiction to burn and bite because of the acknowledgment with oxygen.

On assertive HHO generators, mainly the wet HHO corpuscle blazon systems, the anode has to be bankrupt periodically and will charge to be afflicted if too abundant bane is present on the plate. If the breakable anode bowl is not kept apple-pie it will ultimately breach the ambit breeze and will eventually calefaction up the electrolyte and draft the assurance fuse.

There are mainly two blazon of HHO generators which are the wet HHO corpuscle architecture and the dry HHO corpuscle design. For added advice about these differences you can apprehend the Ezine commodity titled: "What Is the Aberration of a Dry HHO Corpuscle Vs a Wet HHO Cell."

Water As Car Ammunition Benefits

Using added hydroxy gas with the vehicle's primary antecedent of ammunition has abounding advantages both to ambiance and to the engine itself.

The hydroxy gas starts as baptize and finishes the cycle, afterwards getting burned, as beef aerosol through the tailpipe - in added words it becomes baptize again. The hydroxy gas aswell minimizes the carbon agreeable of the engine because the ammunition is getting austere completely

There is no carbon accession central the engine as the hydroxygen gas "steam cleans" the engine already it is austere absolutely through hot steam, which is a resultant of the hydroxy gas's afire process

There is beneath engine abrasion as the engine has no carbon agreeable acting as "grinding paste" on any sliding or rotational components

The engine's accustomed active temperature is acknowledgment if hydroxy gas is present, which leads to beneath abrasion and beneath calefaction stresses on the engine and the apparatus Increase in ability due to primary ammunition getting austere absolutely in the cycle

Engine can run on a bacteria mix of primary fuel; gasoline or diesel

Engine oil does not charge to be afflicted so frequently because about no carbon is captured by the oil (blackening) and the accustomed engine active temperature is bargain by about 10%, acceptation the actinic oil anatomy can usually yield added active cycles afterwards breaking down

Engine tends to run smoother because there is no adverse carbon accession and the oil charcoal at its optimal operating achievement for best periods

Why Buy A Hybrid Car

If you are a part of the abounding added auto owners who are advancing to the cessation that auto bankrupt is accidental to the phenomena of all-around warming, again you ability ambition to accede purchasing a one of these little powerhouses. But there are abounding added affidavit why humans ability ambition to acquirement a amalgam even admitting they are decidedly added big-ticket than cars with acceptable agitation engines.

Hybrids are altered from cars with agitation engines because they accept two motors. The aboriginal is an electric motor, the additional is an engine powered alone by gasoline. They aswell accept been able with a appropriate arrangement that is able to abduction the balance activity which is generated if the car's brakes are applied. They are able of autumn this balance activity in a battery.

Most humans are aggressive to the abstraction of purchasing a car that contains two motors because they anguish that it will breach down alert as abounding times as a car with just one motor. This is a difficult catechism for a lot of auto experts to answer. A car with two motors absolutely has its absolute and abrogating features. The better absolute affection is that hybrids crave no activity if they are dabbling in cartage at a red ablaze or while cat-and-mouse for a alternation to pass. They artlessly shut down. They aswell crave beneath activity than agitation engine automobiles if active at lower speeds. This agency that if you acquisition yourself in stop and go traffic, your auto will not afford bankrupt because it will be active alone on array power. If travelling at college speeds, the gas engine will activate to operate. The engine powered by gasoline is the one that accuse the battery.

People who drive cars which are powered alone by electricity accept begin themselves abandoned on the ancillary of the alley artlessly because they did not accept an addendum bond handy. A amalgam will never allegation an electrical charge. It will consistently be accessible to go whenever you are!

Owning a amalgam car is not an bargain proposition. Installing two motors and a accumulator arrangement for the array is expensive. Because the operating systems in amalgam cars are adequately complex, hybrids crave actual adult centralized computers. Thus, if you own a amalgam car you can apprehend college adjustment bills if it has to go in for service. This is offset, however, by the lower circadian operating cost. Hybrids are the a lot of able automobiles accessible in the mass-market today. They can get as abundant as 60 mpg which is actual acceptable gas mileage.

The alone acumen that hybrids accept not become added accepted is because a lot of North American auto owners are acutely afraid to abandon their fast cars. But if you catechism any buyer of a amalgam car, they will a lot of acceptable acquaint you that any accident in acceleration is fabricated up for in ability in gas mileage. They apperceive that even the aboriginal accumulation in ammunition abridgement will add years to the activity of their car's life.

As a lot of humans know, the Japanese auto industry is way advanced of the US industry in accomplishment hybrids. Despite the top amount of gasoline, American drivers are still adamantly committed to their inefficient SUVs. This mentality may be starting to change itself, though. Ford has afresh brought out its Escape which is a amalgam SUV. This car is rapidly acceptable actual accepted with auto buyers beyond the United States.

Multiple versions of the same painting

It is interesting that throughout art history we can find one artist who will paint multiple versions of the same painting- why is this?  There are many reasons but usually the first version of the painting was so successful that the artist had received another commission.  Let's look at several well known versions of the same theme by the same artist.

1483, Louvre (left) and 1506, The National Gallery (London) (right) 

The Virgin of the Rocks, Leonardo da Vinci 

Leonardo da Vinci created this new type of Madonna and Child painting when he first moved to Milan.  The figures aren't seated on a throne or a chair, but enclosed in a unique landscape which seems otherworldly.  The Virgin Mary puts her arm around the infant St. John the Baptist as he is given the sign of benediction by the infant Christ while being watched over by an angel.  A foreshadowing to Christ's baptism by St. John can be seen in the body of water in the foreground.  Leonardo is here using several techniques he is famous for: chiaroscuro (modeling form with lights and darks), sfumato (using this glazes of paint like smoke) and the use of atmospheric perspective in the blue-gray landscape in the distant background.  The gestures, colors and forms all act as symbols as Leonardo took great care to copy this painting nearly exactly in the second version.

Why two versions of this painting?  The web site of the Louvre museum has a good hypothesis regarding the two versions of Leonardo's Virgin of the Rocks.  The following text is taken from the website and was written by Séverine Laborie:

"The Louvre version of the picture was to have been the central part of a polyptych which the Brotherhood of the Immaculate Conception commissioned Leonardo and the de Predis brothers to paint for a chapel in the church of San Francesco Grande in Milan in 1483. The other version, now in the National Gallery in London and known to have formerly been in this chapel, and several archive documents indicate that the Louvre painting was never installed there. Its presence in the French royal collection is attested from1627, but several clues suggest it may have been acquired much earlier.

The most convincing hypothesis is that the picture, painted between 1483 and 1486, did not meet with Leonardo’s clients’ full satisfaction, which enabled Louis XII to acquire it around 1500−1503. The second, replacement picture, now in London, may have been painted by Ambrogio de Predis under Leonardo’s supervision between 1495 and 1508."

                1528, Metropolitan Museum of Art (left) and 1530, St. Louis Art Museum (right)

 The Judgment of Paris, Lucas Cranach the Elder 

German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder was a court painter in Saxony and above we see two versions of The Judgment of Paris.  This told a story from the start of the Trojan War where the shepherd Paris had to judge which of three Greek goddesses was the most beautiful.  Cranach made several versions of this theme, he depicts the goddess as young and lithe (if proportionally inaccurate) and shows Paris dressed as a Renaissance man.  This was a popular theme for a few reasons: it showed the patron was educated and had knowledge of the classics and it depicted beautiful women.  Yet there was another reason this story was popular among Cranach’s patrons.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art states on their website:

“Just as the emperor Augustus had claimed descent from Aeneas, a son of Venus, so many Italian princes traced their ancestry to the participants in the Trojan War or sought to equate their own accomplishments with the deeds of these heroes.”*

Patrons wanted to tie themselves to the events portrayed in either a painting or sculpture and so commissioned a well known historic or mythological theme from an artist.

*Source of quote: Heroes in Italian Mythological Prints | Thematic Essay |Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 Supper at Emmaus, Caravaggio, 1601, The National Gallery (London)

The Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio has a few examples of multiple versions of the same painting.  His two versions of Christ's Supper at Emmaus are unique in this blog entry as being quite different from one another.

A Roman nobleman Ciriaco Mattei, commissioned the earlier version (above) in 1601.  In this first version Caravaggio pays as much attention to the detailed still-life objects on the table as to his figures.  The gestures that each figure makes are quite theatrical, Christ is shown as clean shaven and this version is not as dark.  In fact a figure casts a shadow that seems to represent a halo over the head of Christ.  While this is a well done painting, it isn't as realistic as his later version.

The second version of this painting was done after Caravaggio committed murder and fled to Naples.  Today it hangs in the Brera Gallery in Milan where I was fortunate enough to have recently seen it, in fact I spent quite a long time sitting in front of this painting.  This later version is more somber and powerful for the viewer, the figures appear in a naturalistic way rather than as having been posed dramatically for the scene.  The sobering changes in the artist's own life are clearly reflected in this work, done in 1606.

Supper at Emmaus, Caravaggio, 1606, Brera Gallery, Milan

 

Vanitas Still-Life, Pieter Claesz                                                              Vanitas Still-Life, Pieter Claesz     

1630, Mauritshuis, Holland                                                               1656, Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna

Seventeenth century Dutch painter Pieter Claesz was a prolific artist who specialized in the Vanitas painting.  In Latin Vanitas means vanity and the Vanitas painting uses symbols to reflect on mortality.  The message for the viewer was a reminder that while earthly life is fleeting, your soul is eternal. While variations of the Vanitas had been used for centuries, its rise in Dutch art coincided with a difficult time in the countries history.  The Twelve Years Truce with Spain ended in 1621 and much of the next decade was spent under siege.  In 1624 a plague swept through Holland, the plague returned in 1635 and struck most heavily in Leiden where over 14,000 died.  

The Vanitas painting became increasing popular through the 1620’s and went from being metaphorical to an allegory of death.  Symbols of mortality included: skulls, candles (both lit and extinguished), timepieces, extinguished oil lamps and empty hourglasses. Claesz painted many versions of Vanitas paintings as they were a popular style of painting and middle and upper class patrons were buying these from galleries to display in their homes.

 1638-43, Metropolitan Museum of Art (left) and 1640-45, Louvre, (right)

                                        The Penitent Magdalene, Georges de la Tour

 French artist Georges de la Tour paints another version of the Vanitas, the penitent Mary Magdalene reflecting on her sins.  He owed much of his style to that of Caravaggio and is considered a "Caravaggisti" or one of Caravaggio's stylistic followers.  de la Tour painted at least four versions of this work, The Repentant Magdalene, is now housed in the National Gallery of Art (DC) and The Magdalene with the Smoking Flame, at the LACMA.
This was typical for the artist, he also painted multiple versions of other themes during his career.

Like the Claesz paintings we have symbols of mortality, such as the skull and the candle.  There are also other symbols of earthly vanity such as jewelry.  Like Caravaggio he creates a somber mood with a strong light source, all four versions of this painting are illuminated by a single candle.  Though the earliest version is unique in that the flame of the candle is reflected in a mirror that Mary Magdalene looks into with a meditative gaze.  Like Pieter Claesz, Georges de la Tour was also selling his work for a broad market and therefore would paint additional versions of his paintings that were the most popular.

 

 Painting Gallery of Ancient Rome, Pannini, 1758, Louvre

Giovanni Paolo Pannini painted his famous pair of works: Painting Gallery of Ancient Rome and Painting Gallery of Modern Rome while he was the professor of perspective at the French Academy of Rome.  French painter Hubert Robert began working in his studio and Pannini was to become the biggest influence on his artistic style.  Pannini took on the role of a mentor for Robert and the younger artist proclaimed him to be the greatest painter of ruins in the world.  While under his supervision Robert assisted with the master’s well known first version of his paintings of imaginary gallery views of ancient and modern Rome, of which he would make several other versions.  The first version was commissioned in 1756 by the Comte de Stainville (the future Duc de Choiseul) who had himself and his friends painted into the scenes as visitors to the galleries.  This pair of paintings proved to be so popular with de Stainville that the year after he finished them Pannini created a second set of these paintings again for the Comte, now in the Louvre.  Robert himself owned a later third version of Pannini’s gallery view paintings as well as several other works by him.

 Painting Gallery of Ancient Rome, Pannini, 1756-57, Stuttgart, Germany

These are just a handful of examples of multiple versions of the same painting by the same artist, but many more can be found throughout history.

Keep On Trucking With Natural Gas

Electric cars and hybrids get all the media coverage.

Lots of humans accept taken the amalgam plunge, purchasing a Prius, Ford Escape or a amount of added models that brace array ability with a baby gas engine to aerate gas mileage. And electric cars accept captured the acuteness of a nation absorbed in cleaner air admitting the actuality that their abidingness in the customer pantheon charcoal to be seen.

But what's the abeyant of a accustomed gas-powered car? America would assume to acknowledgment with a aggregate yawn.

There is an alternative

Does it amount that this country acceptable has abundant accustomed gas to ample every individual commuter's catchbasin for decades? It should. The U.S. Activity Information Administration lists some 35.4 abundance cubic anxiety of accustomed gas in Alaska's North Slope. And analysts at the Abeyant Gas Committee say that if they amalgamate their allegation with that of the EIA, they accept U.S. accustomed gas affluence to be a approaching accumulation of 2,174 abundance cubic feet.

That's an estimated 100-year supply.

And why should we care? There are a amount of reasons. Admiral Ronald Reagan put it this way: "Energy ability is the best alertness America can accomplish for the future."

Another is air quality.

Cutting emissions

Exhaust emissions from CNG cars are cleaner than their gasoline- or diesel-burning compatriots.

Natural Gas Cars for America says the alone assembly accustomed gas-powered commuter car, the Honda Civic CNG, produces 95 percent beneath emissions of non-methane hydrocarbons, and 75 percent beneath emissions of nitrogen oxides than its gasoline counterpart. The EPA ante it as the cleanest internal-combustion car on the market.

Imagine this contrast: Stand abaft a city-limits bus that assault by afire diesel. The effluvium can be noxious. CNG or LNG buses on the added duke accept none of the charcoal and are abundant beneath acceptable to could cause riders to authority their animation until they about-face blue.

Finding opportunity

Companies are alpha to see opportunity, abnormally back the EIA says the fuel, on average, costs 42 percent beneath than agent ammunition on an activity agnate base and is accepted to amount 50 percent beneath by 2035.

A Belmont, Mass.-based aggregation has developed a bound ammunition arrangement for able agent trucks that allows them bake up to 80 percent accustomed gas.

"Because abundant trucks use so abundant agent and there is such a affecting amount cogwheel amid agent and accustomed gas, the systems will pay for themselves in alone about 12 months of archetypal use," says Doug Thomson, a aggregation carnality president, in an email.

Thomson says the capital hurdle is that his aggregation has to accredit the emissions for anniversary ancestors of engines. He says the aggregation is alive its way through the action with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board. He says the emissions are "definitely better... but for now we are focused on just assuming off the operating amount savings."

Range is not a problem

And for the accepted delusion that CNG trucks accept bound range? Thomson says with new ample tanks and his company's technology, "that's no best a problem."

The another will not end the alarming altitude abating accession of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere, but it does accommodate an bargain and cleaner another while innovators plan the kinks out of added activity supply systems. It's acutely not the a lot of accepted on Wall Street, but it's got a attempt and should accept a abode in the mix.

Fleets traveling natural

Municipalities, baby governments and accessible entities are absolutely paying attention.

Fresno, Calif., which is my close of the woods, is on board. The city-limits has 66 buses that run on CNG, four trollies, nine ablaze assignment trucks, eight artery sweepers and a agglomeration more.

City admiral adopted "Operation Apple-pie Air" in 2003 with added counties, cities, businesses and nonprofits in the region. Fresno continues to amend its fleets. The action is committed to convalescent air superior in the San Joaquin Valley, which ranks abreast the top for affliction air abuse in the United States.

Perhaps the accomplished contour West Coast move to apple-pie trucking has been at the Anchorage of Los Angeles, which estimates it has bargain emissions 80 percent compared with 2007 boilerplate air emissions data. Anchorage admiral say that as of January 2012, 100 percent of the "cargo aboideau moves" at anchorage terminals are fabricated with trucks affair EPA apple-pie barter standards. Abounding of those trucks use abounding accustomed gas or aeroembolism accustomed gas.

Sharing the highways

Natural Gas Cars for America letters that there are about 112,000 natural-gas cars on U.S. anchorage and added than 13 actor worldwide. However, there are alone about 1,000 calm fueling stations with about bisected accessible to the public.

About 30 altered manufacturers in this country aftermath 100 models of light, boilerplate and able cars and engines, according to Accustomed Gas Vehicles. The alignment says industry abstracts shows that accustomed gas captivated by cars "nearly angled amid 2003 and 2009."

And appeal is growing, abnormally from bus fleets, at airports and in clandestine fleets.

The EIA shows almost abiding accustomed gas prices admitting contempo account draw downs that acicular prices. "Natural gas alive inventories abide to set new almanac melancholia highs and concluded January 2012 at an estimated 2.86 abundance cubic feet, about 24 percent aloft the aforementioned time endure year," EIA analysts write.

Carving out a customer market

Despite inroads, accepting of the ammunition by the boilerplate customer faces an acclivous battle.

For instance, Greencarreports.com offers on its home page a card that says "car types."

The photo-heavy drop-down offers the latest account on hybrids, electrics, apple-pie diesels and ammunition beef with a added specific array off to the appropriate conduct down into posts about Chevy's Volt, Nissan's Leaf, Tesla's Roadster and Toyota's Prius.

Nothing on accustomed gas. Of course, I'm just apropos to the card listings and not the coverage. Writer John Voelcker offers some of the best blooming car advantage on the web, and his section on the Honda CNG is a abundant backgrounder on the alone assembly accustomed gas car offered in the country. The page architecture reflects interest.

Honda enters the fray

Yet, the Civic CNG, which just accustomed its civic rollout in backward 2011, may change some minds. James R. Healey of USA Today gave one a analysis drive and debates its the pros and cons. He says the capital downside is amount (at $26,925 still cheaper than a Volt, Leaf or boilerplate hybrid) and award a fueling station.

"Heroic cuts in emissions and ammunition costs, but too big-ticket and too abounding compromises for a lot of people," Healey writes.

Maybe that will change. Gas prices are accepted to ascend and possibly breach some annal this summer.

Go Green The Bucket Truck Way!

Protecting the ambiance is one of the important common responsibilities too generally neglected. For the accomplished several years, ample companies accept been alleged aloft to become added acquainted of the botheration of all-around abating and the abatement in non-renewable activity sources such as awkward oil. The furnishings of the common appulse of altitude change are getting acquainted in assertive locations of the United States in the anatomy of ascent atmospheric temperatures - and that could be the aftereffect of too abounding chemicals in the air.

Carbon Emission Problems

Air abuse appears to be causing accident to the ambiance as able-bodied as added active organisms. The attendance of chemicals in the air, such as carbon dioxide, is mainly the aftereffect of animal activities. Extensive analysis has apparent that the above antecedent of this gas in the air is due to centralized engine combustion. While carbon dioxide is capital for bulb life, too abundant of it can accord to all-around warming.

Hybrid Brazier Trucks

Many account companies are alpha to acquirement amalgam brazier trucks. This accomplishment on the allotment of these businesses is aimed at attention the ambiance by abbreviation carbon emissions during the operation of this equipment. The addition of the amalgam brazier barter to the bazaar is in acknowledgment to the growing appeal of account companies searching for "green" solutions for their agile of aggregation vehicles. This amalgam technology is not just addition alternative; it is an absolute band-aid to advice abate all-around warming. Application activity added than non-renewable ammunition to run abundant accessories abundantly reduces the brand that carbon dioxide leaves on the ambiance and is a huge footfall for businesses that are aptitude appear traveling in the "green" direction.

Improved Technology

Hybrid technology has acquired acceptance with account companies who are afraid to accord to advance of the environment. Companies that accept gone this avenue accept aswell apparent that their accomplishment to advice the atmosphere does not accept to appear at the cede of the abundance begin in the technology of a "normal" brazier truck. In fact, absolutely the adverse is true.

According to manufacturers, a amalgam car is added than a adapted brazier truck; it is in fact an improvement. Compared to the approved aeriform lift, a lot of of the bazaar is adequate the optimal ability that is allotment of a amalgam brazier truck. Operators can use the lift after annoying about abiding idling; this can aswell annihilate a abundant accord of the babble of a agent engine active while operating this vehicle.

Another abundant affection of this amalgam barter is its avant-garde system. When the car arrives at the plan site, the abettor can about-face off the engine and the bang can again be operated through its array pack. When the array ability akin runs low, the arrangement automatically restarts the engine to ability the brazier as able-bodied as recharge the battery.

The array backpack can in fact be recharged in two ways: by active it into a accustomed ability antecedent brief which recharges the array to sustain it for an absolute day of operation; and through the engine which allows the array to be recharged while the car is running.

Future Impacts

Through amalgam technology, companies can acquaintance the allowances of a reliable, safe and cost-effective brazier truck. This science abundantly reduces the all-embracing operating costs for the aggregation which decreases the assurance on adopted oil. It aswell improves the action of the ambiance by bearing cleaner emissions.

Purchasing brazier trucks that are able with amalgam technology is one way for account companies to authenticate their admiration to advance the furnishings of all-around abating and advice actualize a bigger environment. The action of high-profile account companies in application amalgam brazier trucks is a above footfall in influencing added businesses to advance and use accessories that uses apple-pie activity and to go blooming the brazier barter way!

Holbein's The Ambassadors

I have long been fascinated by Hans Holbein the Younger's 1533 painting The Ambassadors.  This double Renaissance portrait is filled with symbolism both known and unknown.  The artist Holbein was originally from Germany and moved to England after the Protestant Reformation to work as a portrait artist.  Holbein eventually became a royal court portraitist for King Henry VIII and painted many members of the Tudor court.  

This work is a portrait of two French ambassadors who visited Henry VIII and have been indentified as Jean de Dinteville (left) and Bishop Georges de Selve (right).

 The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533, The National Gallery, London

It is important to keep in mind that 1533 was a seminal year in English history: Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine were divorced, he then married Anne Boleyn and was excommunicated from the Catholic church.  The Protestant Reformation was well underway in Europe and after Henry VIII was excommunicated, England too breaks away from Catholicism.

These events were in part why de Dinteville and de Selve were sent from France to England to visit the Tudor court.  It isn't entirely clear who commissioned Holbein to paint their portrait and requested so many symbols and details be added.  This work has been the subject of scholarly research and debates for centuries.

The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533, detail of dagger and book

One element that may go unnoticed by most viewers is that Holbein has listed the age of each of his subjects, de Dinteville (29) on the sheath of his dagger and de Selve (25) on the pages of the book his elbow rests upon. These symbols tie into the idea of de Dinteville as a man of action and de Selve as one who is leading a contemplative life.  The shelves in the middle are filled with additional symbols that show both men were well educated in a variety of ways.

 The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533

detail of upper shelf

The upper shelf is filled with scientific instruments and has been referred to as the heavenly realm.  Let's look more closely at these objects.  Sitting on top of a luxurious oriental carpet we have a globe of the heavens, a quadrant and several instruments used to tell time including two types of sundials.


Are these objects alluding to the knowledge and worldliness of the two ambassadors?  Is there a particular day and time that the instruments point to that add to the message in the painting?

The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533

detail of lower shelf

The lower shelf while the lower shelf is filled with the objects of man and thought of as the earthly realm.  Here we have a globe of the earth, a book open to reveal mathematics, a lute, several flutes and a song book open to reveal specific hymns.

The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533

detail of lute and songbook

If you look closely at the lute, you will see that one of the strings has been broken.  Therefore an instrument which would be considered harmonious, is now a symbol of discord.  Was this a symbol of discord between England and the Catholic church?  Perhaps instead it was a symbol of the discord between Henry VIII and Catherine as the queen failed to produce a suitable heir to the throne.  Later in the 17th century the lute was frequently used in Northern European painting as a symbol of a woman's sexual organs, though I don't know if there is any connection to that in this painting.

The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533

detail of floor and anamorphic skull

Still lower in the painting are the unique type of flooring and the anamorphic skull, which is unrecognizable when viewing the painting head on.  The viewer must stand to the side and crouch down in order to see it, though it is thought that it originally hung over a flight of stairs and that the viewer would have an easier time seeing this skull, perhaps so as to be taken by surprise by it.

While there are other examples of anamorphic art (where an image can only be seen from a certain viewpoint) it wasn't common at the time.  In fact Holbein was very skilled to have been able to properly execute this artistic trick.

 

The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533

detail of anamorphic skull as seen three dimensionally

The unique flooring is said to be the same as the style in the main altar of Westminster Abbey.  At Westminster the design on the floor has a significance as representing the universe.  Is the fact that there is a skull placed at the bottom, within a possible symbol of the universe a representation of the inevitability of death?  Look again at the full painting at the top and in the top left is a crucifix, placed in a spot over the heavens and earth and reminding the viewer that salvation could be found after death.

Articles and books have been written about this mysterious and compelling work of art and while several interesting theories have been proposed, we may never have all the answers.

If you have not visited the incredible Google Art Project site, I suggest you do so if only to view an incredibly close and detailed version of this painting.

Powerup Your Songwriting With A Chord Wheel

Quick what's the 1st thing that pops into your mind when you think of Music theory? Hey... This is a PG post. ha But you get my point. Very few people get excited at the thought of studying music theory. What I propose... Go at it a different way.

The Chord Wheel, provides an excellent way to propel your music and songwriting forward. Essentially, what it does is give you a plethora of options for chords to use that sound good tonally together. You start with the key you want to play in and spin the wheel to open up the options of what chords or notes to play next. The Chord wheel is an excellent resource for composition, soloing, music education, and transposing.

When writing our own songs, we typically have a handful of chords that we are comfortable with. Our staples, per say. But to continue on our journey as songwriters, we need to move past, what is comfortable, and learn new things. This can often be frustrating, slubbing through websites, books, and reference apps to get points of references.

This handy little tool has it all in one. Is it going to be the only thing we use? Absolutely not, but it can help open up even the worst of writer's block. There is even a handy app for all of our phones.

Another cool way to use this songwriting resource is to look up your favorite songs tabs, and see what chords they used and compare them to your own songs. See if your favorite musician or band is moving to the same positions you tend to gravitate towards.

Here is another cool trick!

Look up your favorite songs tab.

Pull out the chord wheel, and use the first chord as a reference point,

Now change the rest to different chords than the ones in your favorite song!

Maybe you start with moving all the chords just one spot to the right on the wheel.

Now play the chords together, and WALLAH you have a new song. Now, it may take some experimentation, but you get the point. Your options and growth, as a songwriter, have just opened up.

Have fun with it! Use the new inspiration to write that hit, or a new jam song for you and your buddies. We're all looking for new tricks, and this may very welll be a new way at looking at something you already knew.