In those times an heir was of the utmost importance, especially if Henry wanted to showcase his masculinity and discontinue with the pattern of the royal reproductive failure. [17] At first, she kept the closest advisers of Henry IV in the key court positions and took for herself (1611) the title of Governess of the Bastille, although she entrusted the physical custody of this important Parisian fortress to Joachim de Chateauvieux, her knight of honor, who took direct command as a lieutenant of the Queen-Regent. Still not understanding the personality of her son and still believing that it would be easy for her to demand the disgrace of Richelieu from him, she tried to obtain the dismissal of the minister. WebAfter her husbands death-by-joust, Catherine took the image of a broken lance as her personal emblem, inscribed with the words, lacrymae hinc, hinc dolor (from this come my tears and my pain). She is framed by a triumphal arch and surrounded by people at the court. The codex includes 3 full-size illuminations, 42 full-page miniatures, countless historiated or golden initials, and borders feature Flemish and Italianate flowers. These paintings of her parents in Marie de' Medici's reception hall look bleak in comparison to the portrait of Marie, where she is looking beautiful if not vain. Prudence, the figure to the right of Marie, was stripped of her emblematic snake to lessen the chances any viewer would be reminded of Marie's rumored involvement in the King's assassination. During her last years, Marie travelled to various European courts, in the Spanish Netherlands (the ruler of which, Isabella Clara Eugenia, and the ambassador Balthazar Gerbier tried to reconcile her with Richelieu), in England at the court of her daughter Queen Henrietta Maria for three years (staying en route to London in Gidea Hall) and then in Germany; with her daughters and sons-in-law where she tried again to form a "league of sons-in-law" against France, without ever being able to return, and her supporters were imprisoned, banished or condemned to death. The representations are accompanied by their traditional attributes. The best revenge might be living well, but that doesn't mean we can always turn the other cheek. The Catholic fanatic Francois Ravaillac assassinated the king. [79] The Queen is accompanied by a womanly embodiment of what was once thought to be, Fortitude because of the lion beside her. In Rubens' depiction, however, the scissors necessary for this cutting are omitted, stressing the privileged and immortal character of the Queen's life. At this time Henry IV was about to depart to fight in the War of Succession over the United Duchies of Jlich-Cleves-Berg; the coronation aimed to confer greater legitimacy on the Queen from the perspective of a possible regency which she would be called upon to provide in the absence of the King. She groomed a young and soon-to-be notorious Cardinal Richelieu as a statesman, teaching the so-called Red Eminence everything he knew. [111] Her son who is obscured in part by the Wing of Time, kneels before the queen and presents her with the token of amity, the clasped hands and flaming heart within a laurel crown. After Marie's banishment in 1631, the project was to be completely abandoned,[123] which seems a travesty seeing as Rubens was very optimistic about the project and its effects on his career; "I have now begun the designs of the other gallery which, in my judgment, because of the nature of the subject will prove to be more splendid than the first so that I hope I shall rather gain [in reputation] than decline. Each of the rowers can be identified by the emblematic shields that hang on the side of the ship. C.W. With Marie still begging for Henry to crown her, the king instead spent his time playing his mistress and wife off of each other. Stirring up xenophobic passion, the nobility designated the Italian immigrants favored by Marie as responsible for all the wrongs of the kingdom. [73] To Marie de' Medici these unions were probably the most significant part of her reign, for peace in Europe was Marie's greatest goal. She believed that diplomacy should be obtained through marriage and it is the marriage of her daughter Henrietta Maria to Charles I that rushed the completion of the Medici Cycle. [27] Maria and her only surviving sister, Eleonora (with whom she had a close relationship) spent their childhood at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, placed under the care of a governess along with their paternal first-cousin Virginio Orsini (son of Isabella de' Medici, Duchess of Bracciano).[6]. [127] The painting shows Henry parading into Paris as a victorious Roman emperor holding an olive branch, the symbol of peace. [50], He [Rubens] surrounded her [Marie de' Medici] with such a wealth of appurtenances that at every moment she was very nearly pushed into the background. [92] Marie has reigned as regent during her son's youth, and now she has handed the rudder of the ship to Louis, the new king of France. After Marie became Queen of France in 1610, she began a ruthless reign of cruel betrayals, shocking violence, and overweening ambition. We Medici always have. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? Escaping from Blois, 22 Feb., 1619, she made her way into Angoulme and obtained from Luynes the government of Anjou, which became a rallying-point for malcontents. However, the caduceus, which is seen in six other paintings in the cycle, has also been associated with peace and harmony. The royal entourage includes the Dauphin, the Prince of Conti with the crown, the Duke of Ventadour with the scepter, and the Chevalier de Vendme with the hand of Justice. [84], Here Marie is shown in allegorical fashion as the personification of Justice itself and flanked by a retinue of some of the primary personifications/gods in the Greek and Roman pantheon. Gortner, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici tags: innocence , medici 41 likes Like Love is a treacherous emotion. View of the Marie de Medici cycle by Peter Paul Rubens in the Louvre (photo: stevenzucker, CC BY-SA 2.0). Before joining the team, she worked as a course lecturer while completing her Ph.D. in English Literature. [80], The Exchange of Princesses celebrates the double marriage of the Anna of Austria to Louis XIII of France and Louis XIII's sister, Princess Elisabeth, to future king of Spain, Philip IV on 9 November 1615. This gesture would usually be shared among male companions, telling each other's secret. A few months later, Grand Duke Francesco I married his longtime mistress Bianca Cappello; the marriage was officially revealed one year later, on 12 June 1579. The marriage contract was signed in Paris in March 1600 and official ceremonies took place in Tuscany and France from October to December of the same year: the marriage by proxy took place at the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (now Florence Cathedral) on 5 October 1600 with Henry IV's favorite the Duc de Bellegarde representing the French sovereign. In 1578, when Marie was just three years old, her heavily pregnant mother Joanna fell down a flight of stairs, accidentally killing herself and her unborn child. Rubens owned more prints from his contemporary, Adriaen Brouwer, than any other of his Italian influences or his own contemporaries, although it is suggested that Rubens's compassion and concern for Brouwer's career may have been the influential cause for his collection of Brouwer's work. The ancient gods of marriage and loveHymen and Amor (Cupid), to the left and right, respectivelyhover in midair as they present this portrait to Henry IV, the king of France. Afterwards she was offered an Indonesian rice table by the burgomaster, Albert Burgh. [124], The Henry IV cycle was planned to be composed of scenes from the king's military career. We all have sins to confess.. With that cruel final blow, Maries childhoodsuch as it waswas officially over. Eventually, she found a hugely bombastic way to marry her two biggest passions. The marriage of Henry IV with Maria de' Medici represented above all, for France, a solution to dynastic and financial concerns: it was said that the French king "owed the bride's father, Francesco de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who had helped support his war effort, a whopping 1,174,000 cus and this was the only means Henry could find to pay back the debt"[8] In addition, the Medici familybanking creditors of the Kings of Francepromised a dowry of 600,000 cus d'or (2 million livres including 1 million paid in cash to cancel the debt contracted by France with the Medici bank),[9] which earned the future Queen the nickname "the big banker" (la grosse banquire) from her jealous rival, Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues, Henry IV's current matresse-en-titre. Yet this only set the stage for further scandal. [78] The eagle in the sky compels the weaker birds to flee. Additional resources: Key moment in the Medici cycle from the Louvre [125], The Triumphal Entry into Paris is the culminating point of the North End of the gallery. Quotes from others about the person "England had rejected her. The Queen also surrounded herself with portrait painters, such as Charles Martin and especially the Flemish Frans Pourbus the Younger. Oh, but theres more. WebMarie de Medici was described as both proud and scheming. [26] With Amor the Cupid as his escort, Hymenaios, the god of marriage, displays the princess Marie on canvas to her future king and husband. [26], This painting is a representation of a historical event in the life of the Queen where the King and the Queen were crowned at the basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris. Completed in 1625, this is the final painting in the cycle in terms of chronological order of completion. Buckle up: This is one Medici who made good on her villainous name. Therefore, Marie's visual biography was divided into three main chapters: childhood, life as a married queen, and the regency as a widow. There is alot of information on the King, Marie de medici, the whole family. [46] The couple were married by proxy on 5 October 1600. France urges Henry to turn away from the field of battle, the aftermath of which is visible in the burning town in the background, and attend to hearth and home, for domestic matters are no less important to the survival of the monarchy than military exploits. Although Maries uncle Cardinal Ferdinand was at the head of her marriage committee, he gave the young woman an unprecedented amount of choosing power, refusing to force her hand into a marriage agreement. As a comparison, there are within each, two women upon a dais classical pillars, swathes of luxuriant cloth, genuflecting personages with arms extended, and allegorical figures present. Maries appreciation of the visual arts ran deep, and she also dabbled in the medium herself. To add insult to injury, the whole time Henry had been playing White Knight with Marie and sending her love letters, he had been sending almost the exact same letters to Henriette, saying he wanted to kiss her a million times. It only got more tense from there. Marie, in turn, showed great sympathy and support to her husband's banished ex-wife Marguerite de Valois, prompting Henry IV to allow her back to Paris. [89], Considering the haste with which Rubens completed this painting, his lack of specific reference to a golden age in his letter, and the existence of several contemporary depictions of Marie as a figure of Justice, most historians are content with the simpler allegorical interpretation which is more consistent both with Rubens's style and the remainder of the cycle.[90]. Here, we can see evidence of the adaptability of Rubens' style which made his career so successful. Minerva, goddess of wisdom, bears her helmet and shield and stands near Marie's shoulder, signifying her wise rule. 1989. Marie served as regent of France between 1610 and 1617 during the minority of her son Louis XIII. For her son King Louis XIII, this meddling was the very last straw. [79] In the upper part of the image Victoria appears crowning her with laurel leaves which is a symbol of victory. Although she had five older sisters, only two of them survived infancy along with her younger brother, Philip. After negotiating the terms of the contract in early 1622, the project was to be completed within two years, coinciding with the marriage of Marie's daughter, Henrietta Maria. WebMarie de' Medici became the second wife to King Henry IV of France in a marriage by proxy on 5 October 1600 by the power invested in her uncle, Grand Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany. Her visit to Amsterdam was considered a diplomatic triumph by the Dutch, as it lent official recognition to the newly-formed Dutch Republic; accordingly, she was given an elaborate ceremonial royal entry, of the sort the Republic avoided for its own rulers. Peter Paul Rubens: Portrait de Marie de Mdicis ; Artist [78] Being a crossing of Rur, Juliers was of great strategic importance for France and thus the French victory was chosen to be the glorious subject of Rubens' painting. "[119] Marie and Henry's separate wings were designed to meet in an arcade that would unite the two galleries. Peter Paul Rubens had already established himself as an exceptional painter and also had the advantage of sustaining close ties with several important people of the time, including Marie de' Medici's sister, the wife of one of Rubens's first important patrons, the Duke of Gonzaga. It reads, I believe I wrote you that a picture was removed which depicted the Queen's departure from Paris and that, in its place, I did an entirely new one which shows the flowing of the Kingdom of France, with the revival of the sciences and the arts through the liberality and the splendour of Her Majesty, who sits upon a shining throne and holds a scale in her hands, keeping the world in equilibrium by her prudence and equity. In the mid 1600s, she planted roots in Cologne after her friend Peter Paul Rubens loaned her a house there. For example, both the altercation and reconciliation with her son Louis XIII are subjects Marie de' Medici commissioned Rubens to paint for this gallery. My dear, never give up a crown to anybody. Rule number one in queen school is to respect your crown. Rubens was forced to remove these mythical figures and replace them with three generic soldiers. The tragedies of both her parents turned her into one of the wealthiest heiresses in Europe and, as she grew up, one of the most eligible bachelorettes on the marriage market. In June 1642, a bout of pleurisy hit her, and her whole life unraveledliterally. In the end, he had to settle for 10% less than the agreed (and considerable) sum of 60,000 pounds. From there, the second half of Rubens' cycle begins addressing the more controversial issues from Marie's reign. "[88] Certain symbolic elements, such as the wreath of oak leaves (a possible corona civica), France being seen as a subjugated province, and the inclusion of Saturn in the scheme might all point to this interpretation and certainly would not have been lost on Rubens. The Regency was officially ended following the Lit de justice of 2 October 1614, which declared that Louis XIII had attained his legal majority of age, but Marie then became head of the Conseil du Roi and retained all her control over the government. Having never been a particularly graceful event for anyone, disembarking a ship does not pose a problem for Rubens in his depiction of Marie de' Medici arriving in Marseilles after having been married to Henry IV by proxy in Florence. Despite being legally an adult for more than two years, Louis XIII had little power in the government; finally, he asserted his authority the next year. Originally the paintings were hung clockwise in chronological order, decorating the walls of a waiting room expanding from a royal apartment in Marie de' Medici's Luxembourg Palace. What is also known as a parade boat, Rubens referencing Horace's boat, is adorned with a dragon on front and dolphins on the stern. Almost no one from King Henrys old court was happy with this turn of events, and for years they unleashed rebellion upon rebellion in an attempt to boot Marie from power. This, along with its setting makes it difficult to figure out the subject matter of the work. [107] Marie de' Medici however, emerges as a loving mother, ready to forgive all evils and pain endured. The noble coalition was quickly defeated at the Battle of Ponts-de-C (7 August 1620) by Louis XIII, who forgave his mother and the princes. Enjoy your read. Heck yes she did. [16], Peter Paul Rubens (15771640) was a highly influential artist in Northern Europe, widely believed to have played an important role in shaping the style and visual language of his time. A formal chronological structure is followed in Panegyric writings detailing the ancestry, birth, education and life of the individual. Please let us know if a fact weve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect its inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. Other changes include the removal of the Three Fates, originally positioned behind the king calling him to his destiny, war, and death. 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