The Ambassadors

On the lower shelf, among symbols of worldly accomplishment, sits a lute with one broken string. Renaissance emblem books treated the broken string as a standard symbol of discord, especially religious schism. The painting was made in 1533, the year before Henry VIII broke with Rome to marry Anne Boleyn. The two ambassadors are French diplomats sent to manage the schism. The broken string sits between them as the unspoken subject of their visit. Now at The National Gallery, London @nationalgallery