Mr Monkey scampered through the National Gallery to inspect Hans Holbein's painting Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve which is usually simply known as The Ambassadors. It was painted on thin oak panels and was too fragile to be moved to the Tate Britain for the Holbein exhibition. Mr Monkey's humans were intrigued by the strange shape on the floor between the two men, but Mr Monkey quickly found that if you stand at the right place on the right of the painting the shape turns into a skull.
You can read about The Ambassadors at the National Gallery website.
Mr Monkey wasn't allowed to have his picture taken with the real Ambassadors so he's standing in front of a print in these pictures. It's easier to see the skull by moving the print than by looking at the real thing, and there's much less danger of Mr Rik walking into the wall.
Copyright Rik Shepherd and Mr Monkey. This page last modified 12 February 2007