What is the largest sharp print size for The Ambassadors?

At 300 dpi, this 30,000 × 29,560 px file prints up to 100 × 98.5 in with gallery-sharp detail. At 150 dpi the file reaches 200 × 197.1 in, which is poster-sharp quality.

Which standard frame sizes give gallery-sharp prints of The Ambassadors?

Gallery-sharp (300 dpi or above) frame sizes: 10 × 8 in, 14 × 11 in, 16 × 12 in, 20 × 16 in, 24 × 18 in, 36 × 24 in, 40 × 30 in.

Does printing The Ambassadors require cropping the image?

Standard frame aspect ratios may not match this artwork exactly; depending on the size chosen, up to 32% of the image could be cropped. Most print-on-demand services let you adjust the crop position or add a white mat border instead.

The Ambassadors — Hans Holbein the Younger | Free high-res download

The Ambassadors

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

Public domain · $0.0030,000 × 29,560 px · 886.8 MP

Prints gallery-sharp up to100 × 98.5 inat 300 dpi, uncropped · poster-sharp to 200 × 197.1 in at 150 dpi

The download is the original scan on Wikimedia Commons. Big file — give it a minute.

Build the wall set

Art, frame, light and hanging gear, picked together. Choose a size and finish; the wall preview shows exactly what you're getting. One button sends the whole kit to your Amazon cart.

Amazon sells the physical items, sets their prices and availability, and may pay us a commission. The free museum file is separate. How we get paid →

How big can you print it?

Standard frame sizes, turned to match the artwork. "Crops" is how much of the picture you lose filling that frame edge to edge — or keep it all and let a mat take up the difference.

Frame	Effective dpi	Verdict	Crops
10 × 8 in	3000	Gallery sharp	19%
14 × 11 in	2142	Gallery sharp	20%
16 × 12 in	1875	Gallery sharp	24%
20 × 16 in	1500	Gallery sharp	19%
24 × 18 in	1250	Gallery sharp	24%
36 × 24 in	833	Gallery sharp	32%
40 × 30 in	750	Gallery sharp	24%

Will it fit over your couch? Put this one on your wall, to scale — crop or mat, frame size, hang height and the order.

The ticket

The Ambassadors is a painting by Hans Holbein the Younger (German, Augsburg ca. 1497–1543 London), dated 1533. Oil on oak panel. Size on the museum record: 207 × 209.5 cm. Held by The National Gallery, London; the free scan comes from Wikimedia Commons.

Two wealthy Frenchmen stand beside a shelf of globes, instruments and a lute with a broken string. At their feet, a smeared shape appears, and from a sharp angle it resolves into a skull. Holbein played with anamorphosis to put death in the room with them, in a picture that otherwise celebrates success. It is the best proof that a joke can last five hundred years. Hang it somewhere people walk by, so that they can catch the skull on the way out.

The work is in the public domain, which means no permission, no fee and no credit line required. That file is 30,000 × 29,560 pixels — 886.8 megapixels — good for a gallery-sharp print up to 100 × 98.5 in. That is bigger than the painting itself, which measures about 82.5 × 81.5 in — the file holds more detail than you can see standing in front of the original.Paintings reproduce best on matte paper. Gloss throws glare across exactly the brushwork you came for, and a picture light does more for a print than any upgrade in paper.

On the receipt

Artist: Hans Holbein the Younger
Date: 1533
Medium: Oil on oak panel
Size: 207 × 209.5 cm
Held by: The National Gallery, London
License: Public domain · Public Domain Mark
Source: Commons file page ↗