Vittore Carpaccio
Reception of the English Ambassadors

The reproductions of the nine-part Ursula Cycle exhibited here are significantly smaller than the original works and depict them at only 60% of their actual size. Nevertheless, the reproduction of the first painting in the cycle is still almost 1.70 metres high and a good 3.50 metres wide. All the original works of the Ursula cycle are in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice. 

The huge landscape format shows the view into three adjacent rooms of a building that extends into the depths of the picture space. The centre room is twice as large as the rooms to the left and right. 

The space on the left is an arcade that runs from the foreground to the background. A canal can be seen on the left-hand edge of the picture between the columns and pillars lined up diagonally towards the back. A gondola floats on it. Some colourfully dressed men are standing under the arches in the corridor, some leaning against the railing between the pillars. Other men peer between the pillars into the centre room. 

Steps lead up to a throne on the right-hand wall of the loggia. Kneeling on them are four men who have respectfully removed their headgear. Three of them have half-length blond hair. The foremost is dressed in a gold-embroidered robe. He hands several sheets of paper to the dark-haired king on the throne. The king, named Maurus, is wearing a crown and sceptre. He is clad in a golden robe and is flanked on either side by two seated men. They are all wearing dark caps. 

The loggia is separated by a railing from a wide square in the background, which is populated by a large number of men. Some of them peer in over the railing. The square is bordered by a canal with two sailing ships, behind which rise magnificent townhouses and a large octagonal building with a domed roof. 

A wall separates the loggia from the raised room on the right. At the foot of a staircase, at the bottom right of the picture, sits an old woman with a stick - it is Ursula's nurse. She is wearing a black dress, a shawl and a white bonnet. She is gazing into the distance. The steps end in the raised room, Ursula's bedroom. 

King Maurus sits there next to a bed with a canopy, his head resting in his hand. In front of him stands his daughter Ursula in a blue dress. A broad red cloth lies over her like a sash. Her long blonde hair is gathered in a plait at the back of her head. Ursula looks at her father and taps the fingers on her left hand with her right index finger, as if she were enumerating something. On the wall behind them hangs a picture of the Madonna in a golden frame.

"There was once [...] a devout king, [...] Maurus by name, who had a daughter, called Ursula. She lived such a virtuous life, was so wise and so beautiful, that her name took wing across the lands. Then there was the king of England, [...] and the fame of this maiden came before him, so that he said: he would be blessed above all things if he could give the maiden in marriage to his only son."

That's how the story of Saint Ursula's martyrdom begins. What you see unfolding here is the next scene. The King of England's envoys have arrived at court. Clad in silver and gold embroidered damask robes, they kneel before King Maurus and present a letter in which their master asks for the hand of Princess Ursula. Maurus accepts the letter, while four advisors observe the scene with some scepticism.

Carpaccio stages this ceremony in keeping with the conventions of the Venetian doge's court. That's not accidental – it's an assertive statement. The earliest diplomatic contacts had developed during the 15th century, with the Venetians setting up the first seats for their ambassadors in other countries. The wealthy mercantile city of Venice was one of the first city states to maintain diplomatic relations – including alliances by marriage.

Would you like to know what the fair Ursula decided? Take a look at the right-hand section of the painting. It shows a concerned -looking Maurus presenting the marriage proposal to his daughter. He's worried because the king of England and his son have not yet converted to Christianity. But Ursula has already made up her mind. She tells her father what her conditions are, counting them on her fingers. Her wise old nurse sits outside the chamber, gazing gloomily into the future.

Here you can see a series of pictures about the life of Saint Ursula. Ursula's story is a martyrdom. Martyrdom means that someone is tortured and killed for their faith.

Here you can see the first picture in the series.

The ambassadors of the English king have arrived at the court of Ursula’s father, the King of Brittany.

You kneel before him in clothes embroidered with silver and gold. You hand him a letter saying that the son of the English king wants to marry Princess Ursula. Four of Ursula's father's advisors are watching.

On the right you can see how it continues: Ursula's father brings the letter to his daughter and looks at her with concern. There is a problem: Ursula and her family are Christians, but the English king and his son are not Christians.

Ursula has already decided to get married, but she sets a few conditions that she lists on her fingers. An old woman sits in the front of the picture. She used to be Ursula's nanny. She looks worriedly into Ursula's future.