Saturday, April 13, 2013

Pure and Sinful: The Many Faces of Women in the 16th Century Images










Pure and Sinful: The Many Faces of Women in the 16th Century


Pure and Sinful: The Many Faces of Women in the 16th Century

In the study of gender it is argued that “society exaggerates the biological sexual difference between the male and female thus producing ideals”[i] as will be shown in the portrayals of 16th century women. Men and women are different and there is no denying that but when focusing on society it is not necessarily the biological difference but the roles men and woman play. These roles coincide with the issues of the secular and religious attitudes of the time for example the ideal of the Virgin Mary or the writings and images about beauty. How do these images and writings define what it means to be a woman and do these truly show their identity or a single ideal?
With the identity of women in mind there are three important subjects: status, secular, and religious life. When one thinks of status the first thing that comes to mind is life at court. An author well known at the time was Baldassare Castiglione whom in 1528 wrote The Book of the Courtier. Most of the book addresses the constitution of a perfect courtier or a male who attends the court of a powerful person but the last installment addresses the perfect lady or courtesan. A woman of court must be “well born and of good house. To have a good grace in all her doings”[ii]. This meaning like the courtier the lady must be of noble lineage and also she must be graceful in everything. “To have the understanding being married, how to order her husband’s substance, her house and children, and to play the good housewife”[iii]. This is important because it defines the woman as a person whom only stays at home and does things for her family and husband, not herself. “To give the hearing of such kind of talk with blushing and bashfulness and to apparel herself so, that she seem not fond and fantastistcal”[iv] This idea of blushing plays into the persona of a women as someone whom should be meek and not straightforward and her clothes should be reasonable and not overly showy. “To show such a one all signs and tokens of love, saying such as may put him in a dishonest hope”[v]. This brings another aspect of the woman and her sexual power, don’t lead men on. This idea goes back all the way to Eve in which she was considered the temptress.  Two Venetian Woman by Vittore Carpaccio also known as the courtesans wear fine clothes and pearl necklaces. Several objects around the figures allude to the chastity of the women like the white kerchief and doves but they bend showing their cleavage in a sexual manner.
This identity of the meek and passive woman continued in the secular realm. Portraiture was an important tool of the time not just as a work of art but also to establish an image of identity. This identity was to portray the ideal beauty and at the time there were popular writings which immortalized the idea. Lorenzo the Magnificent in his writings recalls a lost Florentine beauty, “Her beauty as I have said, was wonderful: she was of an attractive size and ideal height; the tone of her complexion was white yet not pallid, fresh yet not glowing”[vi]. This idea of the white complexion is used throughout the portraits of women.
Not to say that some didn’t had different views on the subject of cosmetics like Leonardo whom said, “And have you not seen the poor mountain folk wrapped in their rude clothing possess much greater beauty than those who are lavishly adorned?”[vii]. Even though there were some who disagreed with the vanity most in the secular realm praised the ideal. It may seem surprising that the bodily features were focused on but to some the woman leads to God. The Platonists or followers of Plato described three kinds of beauty: the soul, body, and voice. “Only the mind can crave the first, which consists in the soul’s perfection through virtue. Bodily beauty comes from a well-proportioned and pleasing appearance and appeals to the eyes while words that are well spoken reach through the ears”[viii]. A woman with true beauty will have all three of these.
In Florence from 1440 to 1550 there was a boom of female portraiture since artists were expanding out of the realm of court life. The portraiture was not really about the individual but traits that the woman shared with women of the same class. Looking at the portraits one might think that “Florentine women of the time all had long necks, golden hair, pearly white skin, sparkling blue eyes, ad rosy lips and cheeks”[ix]. This of course is not true but it reflects the idea of beauty mostly coming from literature. Poets and artists seemed to celebrate the virtues of women like modesty and chastity in an act of commemoration. “It is often observed that women are nearly always seen by men to represent something other than themselves-ideals, symbols, allegories”[x]. This was a known effect and something people of that time understood because of the church’s use of symbolic and allegorical terms.
In defining a woman through portraits marriage was the biggest event in a 16th century woman’s life. “A strong case can be made that visual representations of women were made during the period up to six years following marriage”[xi] A great example of this is Fra Filippo Lippi’s Portrait of a Woman and a Man at a Casement. Looking at this image you can tell that she is no longer a bride because brides were known to wear their hair down for the ceremony because it symbolized innocence but married women had to tightly bind their hair. Her outfit is also very extravagant with the crimson color and flamboyant sleeves. The jewels have a symbolic nature also in that they signify marriage because jewels were something that would have been exchanged during marriage. “Pearls were by far the costliest of gem and their repeated use in this portrait shows the wealth and splendor of this marriage and social alliance”[xii]. The white of the pearls can also be associated with purity. Her hair also has a significance even though Italians would have had dark coloring here she has fair hair. Dye was actually used to color the hair to resemble “beloved golden locks” like in Botticelli’s Primavera. Like all fads this one began to fade and women began showing their natural hair color. One can also notice the extreme expanse of her forehead, women actually would pluck to the hairline to increase the expanse and this made them look more elegant. Looking at the portraits by Antonio del Pollaiuolo of some ladies one can see the similarities except the covering around the ears which is said to hale from “the belief that the Virgin conceived through the ear”[xiii].
In looking at these portraits the viewer can see that the female image is in profile instead of focusing on the face, almost looking like the side of a coin instead of a painting. This gave the impression that the female was contained also there is no eye contact since most likely the viewer would be male. This wasn’t necessarily the standard for Europe since Hans Memling painted Maria Maddalena Baroncelli, Wife of Tommaso Portinari, shown here is the Burgundian fashion in which her hair is “concealed under a black headdress edged with black velvet and covered with a gray veil, her velvet bodice trimmed with white ermine”[xiv]. Around her neck the viewer can see the collar of pearls, gold, and gems. The hair seems to be less of a factor since it is completely covered up. This norm of portraiture eventually started to branch out and a turning point was Ginerva de’ Benci by Leonardo da Vinci. In this you can actually see nature in the background combined with the colors of her garments which mirrors the colors of the nature. She is a lady of high authority but she isn’t adorned in jewels. This in part is probably due to the Sumptuary laws which stated “with the exception of a single brooch and three rings, all ornaments of gold or silver, jewels, or pearls; clothed dyed crimson; and furs are forbidden”[xv]. This painting was painted in a highly individual way since women could no longer be extravagantly covered in jewels. A similar one also done by Leonardo is the famous Mona Lisa, her stance can be said to be different in that she turns to greet the viewer. The connection between woman and nature is made again due to the background but the misty quality makes it appear more dreamlike almost as the viewer is peering into her mind.
Following Leonardo’s changes eroticism became more prominent. Giulio Romano‘s Doña Isabel de Requesens is an example. The red velvet of her garment makes one think of the pleasures of love, her sleeves billow almost like the tussled sheets of a bed. “A marten fur lies suggestively over one shoulder, and a red velvet hat, crowns her long, golden tresses, that float erotically loose”[xvi]. The fact that her finger tips toy with the fur makes one think of pleasure and her knees appear to be wide apart. This image in the secular aspect is fine but in the context of religion would have been borderline heretical. In Europe woman were in the shadow of Eve so they are weak and not to be trusted. There is one woman who could do no wrong and that is Mary. Women could be redeemed if they followed in the footsteps of the Virgin Mary.
A lot of the images of the Virgin had roles in which could be connected with women in general. A good example is Raphael’s Madonna della Sedia in which Mary is a real flesh and blood woman with her chubby Jesus; here the viewer can see the bond between mother and child. A book also told of famous women other than Mary whom other women should strive to be. Boccaccio’s Concerning Famous Women spoke for example of a woman named Lucretia who “Cleansed her shame harshly, and for this reason should be exalted with worthy praise for her chastity”[xvii]. In the story she was raped so she killed herself in order to not bring dishonor to her family.
Women’s roles changed during the Reformation in Northern Europe. This depended on what their status was at the time. In the religious realm women in convents, both nuns and lay sisters were first affected. With the Protestant change the convents were closed down and the nuns were encouraged to marry. Some convents actually fought the change and a famous case was St. Clara Convent in Nuremberg. “The council first sent representatives to try to persuade the nuns and then began a program of intimidation. None of the measures were successful and the council eventually left the convent alone, although it forbade the taking in of new novices”[xviii]. Katherine Von Bora a nun unsatisfied with convent life sent a message to Martin Luther asking for help and he arranged to have Katherine “and eleven of her fellow nuns smuggled out of the convent hidden on a supply wagon on the eve of Easter 1523”[xix]. Later she was to marry Martin Luther. Leaders of the Catholic Reformation tried to do the opposite by telling young women to disobey their parents and enter convents to escape arranged marriages.
Not every woman of course was a nun and these family women were exposed to things like “protestant pamphlets portraying the pope with the whore of Babylon”[xx]. The Protestants did have similar views with Catholicism in that marriage was a woman’s highest calling. Unmarried women were looked down upon because they were fighting the natural order and as some would say were “masterless”. With the coming of the Protestants also meant the doing away with the veneration of Mary. They were instructed to pray to Christ instead of a woman whom had been a mother. “The Protestant Reformation not only downplayed women’s public ceremonial role; it also stripped the calendar of celebrations honoring women and ended the power female saints and their relics were believed to have on people’s lives”[xxi]. To Luther Mary was made into a God whom only showed obedience to God and wasn’t the true vessel, God himself. Luther wrote, “To invoke the Virgin Mary and the saints may make a beautiful show of holiness; but we must stay together under the head, or we are eternally damned. What will become of those who crawl for shelter under Mary’s cloak?”[xxii] They wanted to make an emphasis on Mary’s humanity; she is not the “queen of heaven”. Even old woodcuts were reinterpreted into a Lutheran context like Lucas Cranach the Elder’s Holy Kindred. The original woodblock was of St Anne with Mary and Christ and her family but the attentions were changed to focus on the importance of education for children and how parents were obligated.
Schooling was very important especially to teach and spread Protestantism. Schools were opened for both boys and girls but even that was outweighed by the war and destruction caused by reform, a woman wasn’t allowed to marry again if her husband went to war unless it was absolutely certain that he was dead. Also women were banned from discussing religion publicly unless it was a mystical vision since this was an acceptable path to God for women. A new label that came about was a pastor’s wife since now pastors in the protestant religion were allowed to marry. Life for the wife of a pastor was difficult though since “former priests or monks, these men had never been worried about an income and continued to leave such things in God’s or their wives’ hands”[xxiii]. Noblewomen had to live by the same rules as commoners but they had the most opportunity to express their religious convictions. Female occupations not necessarily their own but their husbands’ were effected due to the change in religious practices for example the demand for votive candles went down so they were forced to find other ways to support themselves. As can be seen most women experienced the Reformation as individuals and not society as a whole which was prominent with Catholicism.
Unfortunately the worst of what women suffered wasn’t losing money but sometimes death. The reformation served to intensify the process of witch-hunting and helped the hunt spread from place to place. Witch hunting actually began about one hundred years before the reformation in the middle ages. Women were said to be more susceptible to the devil since they could be deceived and seduced easily, people felt sorry for the women but the only way to help them was to kill them. One account was of a man who warned his mother “since she was a simple and ignorant person that this demon was doing things which were not right, that in fact were contrary to our faith”[xxiv]. As early as the 13th century it was said that women were prone to witchcraft since they were “in every way morally and mentally inferior to men”[xxv]. This image was constantly confirmed until it was just assumed that witches were female. One of the arguments used to support this was the devil was male and there is usually ritual copulation so the witch must be female. The rise in women with courtly love and the Virgin Mary may have also had a hand in that it separates the women as good and evil. The evil qualities become something of a principal and are looked at more. Evil becomes more humanized and thus the growth of the witch belief increases.
One of the factors was the increased fear of the devil. Martin Luther actually reported having “active bouts with Satan and that we are all subject to the Devil, both in body and goods”[xxvi]. This concern emphasized more so the heretical side of witchcraft rather than the magical. Ironically the rise of the Protestants itself appeared too many Catholics as the work of Satan which caused more fear. Another aspect was the idea of the morally conscious Christian, that you alone are a sinner and responsible for it. This produced extreme guilt and a way to get rid of it was to simply transfer it to another person. “The ideal object of such projection was a witch, a person who personified evil”[xxvii]. Evil was also associated with superstition and this produced a conundrum since it deprived people of forms of protection, like medals of saints, against evil. The reformation led to many translations of the bible and this lead to a deadly misinterpretation. Exodus 22:18 states “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” witch actually meaning a poisoner not a sorcerer. This didn’t matter because “to deny the possibility, nay, actual existence of witchcraft and sorcery is at once flatly to contradict the revealed word of God”[xxviii].  This literal interpretation would later be the undoing of witch persecution since the Bible contains little references to witchcraft and that God restrained all diabolical powers in the world.
Women are often hidden in history as is their intimate reality shown in portraits but they still depict real women. The viewer may not see the conflict in the idealic sitter but it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. The female portraits aren’t necessarily the real experience of women but they do tell the viewer the relationship between life and art. What seem to define a woman are relationships in general. Men dominated the public space and a woman was defined by her husband, she essentially was a poster board for his wealth. The woman was behind the scenes but without her the man would be lost as was evident in the Reformation when the priests were allowed to marry. The early images of women seemed to focus on ideals but later in the century artists like Leonardo Da Vinci and Giulio Romano delve deeper into the image showing the woman’s true power, maybe that’s why Mona Lisa has that smirk because she knows.

















































[i] Barnet, Sylvan. A Short Guide To Writing about Art(Pearson, 9th edition), 228-231

[ii] Castiglione, Baldassare. The book of the courtier(New York Charles Scribner’s Sons,             1903), 374

[iii] Castiglione, Baldassare. The book of the courtier(New York Charles Scribner’s Sons,             1903), 374

[iv] Castiglione, Baldassare. The book of the courtier(New York Charles Scribner’s Sons,             1903), 375

[v] Castiglione, Baldassare. The book of the courtier (New York Charles Scribner’s Sons,             1903), 376.


[vi]  Herald, Jacqueline. “The Image of Beauty: 1450-1480”, Renaissance dress in Italy             1400-1500, (1981): 157-158.

[vii]  Herald, Jacqueline. “The Image of Beauty: 1450-1480”, Renaissance dress in Italy             1400-1500, (1981): 158.

[viii] Brown, David. Virtue and Beauty: Leonardo's Ginevra De' Benci and Renaissance             Portraits of Women (Princeton University Press, 2003), 59.

[ix] Brown, David. Virtue and Beauty: Leonardo's Ginevra De' Benci and Renaissance             Portraits of Women (Princeton University Press, 2003), 12.

[x] Brown, David. Virtue and Beauty: Leonardo's Ginevra De' Benci and Renaissance             Portraits of Women (Princeton University Press, 2003), 41.

[xi] Brown, David. Virtue and Beauty: Leonardo's Ginevra De' Benci and Renaissance             Portraits of Women (Princeton University Press, 2003), 65.

[xii] Brown, David. Virtue and Beauty: Leonardo's Ginevra De' Benci and Renaissance             Portraits of Women (Princeton University Press, 2003), 67.


[xiii] Brown, David. Virtue and Beauty: Leonardo's Ginevra De' Benci and Renaissance             Portraits of Women (Princeton University Press, 2003), 67.

[xiv] Brown, David. Virtue and Beauty: Leonardo's Ginevra De' Benci and Renaissance             Portraits of Women (Princeton University Press, 2003), 69.

[xv] Brown, David. Virtue and Beauty: Leonardo's Ginevra De' Benci and Renaissance             Portraits of Women (Princeton University Press, 2003), 73.

[xvi] Brown, David. Virtue and Beauty: Leonardo's Ginevra De' Benci and Renaissance             Portraits of Women (Princeton University Press, 2003), 81.

[xvii] Boccaccio, Giovanni. Famous Women (President and Fellows of Harvard College,                 2001), 103.

[xviii] Wiesner, Merry. “Nuns, Wives, and Mothers: Women and the Reformation in             Germany”, Women in Reformation and Counter Reformation Europe: Public and             Private Worlds, (1989): 291.

[xix] Zophy, Jonathan. A Short History of Renaissance and Reformation Europe Dances             Over Fire and Water (Pearson Education, 2009), 188.

[xx] Zophy, Jonathan. A Short History of Renaissance and Reformation Europe Dances             Over Fire and Water (Pearson Education, 2009), 293.

[xxi] Wiesner, Merry. “Nuns, Wives, and Mothers: Women and the Reformation in             Germany”, Women in Reformation and Counter Reformation Europe: Public and             Private Worlds, (1989): 295.

[xxii] Heal, Bridget. Images of the Virgin Mary and Marian devotion in Protestant             Nuremberg, 25.

[xxiii] Wiesner, Merry. “Nuns, Wives, and Mothers: Women and the Reformation in             Germany”, Women in Reformation and Counter Reformation Europe: Public and             Private Worlds, (1989): 302.

[xxiv] Ginzburg, Carlo. The Night Battles: Witchcraft and Agrarian Cults in the 16th and             17th Centuries (John Hopkins University Press, 1992), 66.

[xxv] Russell, Jeffrey. Witchcraft in the Middle Ages (Cornell University, 1972), 279.

[xxvi] Levack, Brad. Witch Hunts in Modern Europe (3rd edition, 2007), 112.

[xxvii]  Levack, Brad. Witch Hunts in Modern Europe (3rd edition, 2007), 115.

[xxviii] Levack, Brad. Witch Hunts in Modern Europe (3rd edition, 2007), 121.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Marie de Medici: Mother, Regent, and Heroine Paintings









Marie de Medici: Mother, Regent, and Heroine


In the Marie de Medici Cycle Peter Paul Rubens was able to make an unremarkable woman, who was defined by her position as the wife and widow of Henry IV and mother of King Louis XIII, extraordinary. Rubens used “mythological and allegorical figures along with imaginative figural demonstrations of royal power, exalted emotion, and family bonds”[1]. Rubens was able to balance Marie’s up and down relationship with Louis XIII by portraying Marie as a “fixed, feminine presence in the cycle”[2]. What is apparent through the works is Ruben’s use of feminine personification to represent the Queen.
While some may have an association with beauty others embody more heroic attributes. The cycle in effect is a story and should be read as one, a story of a forty nine year old woman.  Following this argument will lead to the discussion of Rubens as an artist and why he was such a good match to create Marie’s cycle. Also Marie will be discussed in a historical context prior to the cycle. Four main pieces of the cycle will be focused on: The Coronation in Saint-Denis, The Felicity of the Regency of Marie de Medici, Louis XIII Comes of Age, and The Triumph of Truth.
Why was Rubens, a painter from Antwerp, entrusted with such a big order? “He was met with much aversion and envy on the part of the local court painters”[3]. This commission was an extreme challenge even for such an accomplished artist as Rubens. He must portray the Queen Mother but do so in way that didn’t ridicule or humiliate Marie since at the same time there were delicate political issues. Due to these stipulations the painter was subject to Marie’s strict control. Rubens in his past work displayed a profound interest in gender in his works with fierce Amazons, Marie was known to have Amazon works in her quarters, and with the case of France gender was a delicate subject. “Female monarchal power in France, although obviated through ongoing legal statutes that forbade women to occupy the throne, was nevertheless always perceived as a potential threat”[4]. Marie could have been seen in this light due to her regency of her son and commissioning this huge project. Rubens was walking a fine line of political and social issues.
Marie de Medici was born in the year 1573 in Florence as the youngest daughter of Francesco I Grand Duke of Tuscany. After the death of her mother Johanna her father made the unpopular decision to marry his mistress Bianca Capello. Marie moved away from the couple to Palazzo Pitti. Her father and mistress were eventually poisoned by the order of Ferdinand de Medici. Grand Duke Ferdinand I was Marie’s uncle and he sympathized with her. He was determined to fine Marie a husband and a deal was set in April 1600 for Marie to marry Henry IV. “In spite of the fact that Marie bore five children, including two sons to the king, she had to put up with a string of humiliations from the courtiers and the king’s mistresses”[5]. Marie didn’t really have a serious political role until Henry IV had to march to war and he felt it was necessary to crown Marie so he had peace of mind knowing she could be regent to their son Louis XIII if he died. Strangely a day later Henry IV was assassinated and Marie became regent to her son Louis XIII.
Naturally there were some suspicions that the Queen ordered her husband to be killed since it brought a lot of benefits but it was never proved or disproved. On September 27th 1614 there was a ceremony marking King Louis XIII coming of age and this was followed by a revolt of princes which eventually led to an argument between Marie and her son. Louis XIII following this argument sentenced to death a couple of the queen’s confidantes. The queen fled Paris and was imprisoned in the Royal residence in Blois. Following a few civil wars relations between son and mother improved and later the death of the king’s intimate friend Duc de Luynes opened the way to complete forgiveness.
In the cycle Rubens “appears to have been inventing from scratch an allegorical language that would serve the purpose of honoring a queen whose relation to men constituted her soul justification as a monarch”[6]. The image The Coronation in Saint-Denis is very important personally to Marie de Medici since that is ultimately when she received her power. Looking at the image the viewer can see the precise moment when Marie receives her crown, the crown being an ultimate symbol of power and royalty. The Dauphin dressed in white is seen to her right, his arm guides or supports her as she receives the crown. Looking closer at the Dauphin you can see he appears to be wearing high heels.
The high heel was “a particular innovation of the court Henry IV of the first decade in he 1600s, it sleekened the look of the noble male body by visually lengthening the leg and imparting a sense of elegant precision to the foot”[7]. Rubens uses the heel to show the muscular strength in Louis XIII’s legs and how with Louis’s power Marie is able to receive her crown. King Henry IV appears in the window watching the ceremony which is an “active agent in the drama, with allusions to male nobility”[8] and a great number of people can be seen attending the ceremony. The opulence is grand and magnificent with the Queen’s mantle of blue velvet entirely patterned with the fleurs-de-lis, a royal symbol of France. This mantle shapes her identity and gives her a monarchal status.
Interestingly enough some figures behind Marie are also wearing fleurs-de-lis on their borders. “That of Madame, eldest daughter of France, and that of Queen Marguerite each had four rows. The other princesses of royal blood demanded to wear three, but were not so authorized”[9]. The mantle really shows Ruben’s skills with color, the blue covers the carpet, the court, the queen, and her escort but Rubens is able to “place the majority of the blue mass in half-tints and shadow”[10] so that your focus is the skin and flamboyant lace collars.  The dogs towards the bottom could be Marie’s dogs since she did have some but also dogs are known to symbolize loyalty. This could be a message to the doubters who thought she wasn’t loyal to her husband. In the background you see a choir of music and stands crammed with spectators. The general populace seen behind the queen gives applause and exclaims their excitement for her crowning. The angels throwing down gold coins are an allusion to writings of the event in which after the mass had been said “coins of gold bearing the image of the queen were thrown”[11]. It can be seen that Rubens probably composed this image for distanced viewing by employing strong accents of red onto the robes of the cardinals near the right edge. This painting is actually one of the few that doesn’t show any mythological characters and was an actual historical event.
Henry IV dies the day after her coronation and she became a regent to her son shown in The Felicity of the Regency of Marie de Medici. In the image the queen is seen seated on the throne with her royal mantle. She is said to personify justice since she is holding a scale. At her side is Minerva goddess of wisdom bearing her helmet and shield. She stands near Marie to signify her wise rule. The woman with the snake is prudence also symbolizing wisdom. Another carries a horn of plenty or cornucopia signifying the abundance which Marie brings as regent. “Below or the foreground you see representations of ignorance, creator of falsehoods, and envy bound. Ignorance is represented by donkey ears, falsehoods by a satyr sticking out his tongue and envy by a hideous woman”[12]. Nude children representing the liberal arts sit in the foreground.
The one with paint brushes represents painting, another holds a flute. Two of them pull ignorance’s ears and trample envy. This clearly shows how Marie uses her liberal education to crush vices. Saturn can be seen on the side with his sickle personified as time leading France forward. France usually personified as a more Amazonian figure here seems more feminine, “displaying full breasts, swath legs, and the vertical calm of a classical goddess”[13]. This is to personify Marie’s more docile and accepting attitude. The bare breast on Marie is a conundrum because this in a way conflicts with power but maybe this is a message to show France’s view on women rulers. This painting is interesting because it actually replaced another painting which was judged to be too full of negative allusions towards Louis XIII. The king, her son, thought the first painting was offensive.
The fact that Rubens agreed to replace it shows his ability to adapt which explains why he was such a successful painter. Rubens actually wrote on the subject saying, “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 arts through the liberality and the splendor of her majesty, who sits upon a shining throne and holds a scale in her hands, keeping the world in equilibrium by prudence and equity”[14]. It may be too much of a stretch but Marie almost looks like a Madonna on her throne surrounded by saints.
A few years into Marie’s regency Louis XIII has a coming of age party and this transition of power is depicted in Louis XIII Comes of Age. Louis can be seen with a crown on his head and a scepter in his left hand, symbols of monarchal rule. He is aboard a vessel in which the helm has been handed to him by the queen. He grasps the helm with his right hand. The four virtues man the oars and propel the vessel forward. “The virtues are represented by a symbol of faith holding a herald’s staff between two horns of plenty, justice by a pair of scales, religion by an altar entwined by a serpent with an eye above it, and force by a lion embracing a column”[15]. This shows that Marie is passing all of her great attributes to her son when he rules. Force is paired with Marie by the color of her hair, and similarly Louis is paired with religion.
The pairing of Marie with the figure of force gives power to the image of the queen, while her actual pose is more passive, showing very effectively her graceful acknowledgement of her son’s authority henceforth. At the center in front of the masts stands France, with a flame in her right hand illustrating steadfastness and the globe of the realm, or orb of government, in her left. France also looks more powerful than the France in The Felicity of the Regency of Marie de Medici maybe to emphasize a more masculine nature since Louis XIII is present. The two stars in the sky foretell a calm sea saying that the transition of power is peaceful and the future will be also. It also should be noted that the boat has yet to leave the harbor since they appear to be hoisting the sails signifying a new journey with Louis at the helm. It is an interesting painting to examine within the context of the tense relationship between the king and his mother.
The last painting in the cycle and also the last one to be discussed is The Triumph of Truth.  Louis XIII and Marie are seen seated in the heavens. “The king presents a laurel to the queen with a heart and two joined hands inside it symbolizing a sincere union”[16]. Below Saturn or “wings of time” raises truth into the light. Both Marie and Louis appear equal in size but the queen seems to be given more significance by the gestures of Saturn and truth. Time has ultimately uncovered the truth and both have been reconciled. A heavenly light seems to shine through the clouds signifying that Marie’s intention had always been of the purest nature and her son seems to realize this placing his hand on his heart as a sign of affection. Throughout their life on earth they were tricked and taken advantage of putting them against each other but in heaven they realize the truth and forgive each other. While Marie de Medici was concerned about the monarchy she seemed more concerned with her personal fate. With this idea she didn’t want to be known as just a queen because that does not last forever, but a heroine does. “The idea of the hero was triumphing everywhere in her time. Literary works were full of it, and the memoirs of the period prove that it constituted all the philosophy the court knew or cared to know”[17]. This is why in her portrayals she is not merely a wife or weeping widow but a bold undertaker whom makes mistakes but has adventures.






















Bibliography

Chroscicki, Juliusz. “The Recovered Modello of P. P. Rubens' Disembarkation at             Marseilles. The Problem of Control and Censorship in the Cycle Life of Maria de'             Medici," Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 26, No. 51 (JSTOR 2005), 221-249.
Cohen, Sarah. “Ruben’s France: Gender and Personification in the Marie de Medicis             Cycle,” The Art Bulletin, Vol. 85, No.3. (JSTOR Sep., 2003), 490-522.
Thuillier, Jacques. Rubens’ Life of Marie de’ Medici (New York: Harry N, Abrams, 1967),             27-152.


[1] Sarah Cohen. “Ruben’s France: Gender and Personification in the Marie de Medicis Cycle,” The Art Bulletin, Vol. 85, No.3. (JSTOR Sep., 2003), 490.
[2] Cohen, “Ruben’s France”, 496.
[3] Juliusz Chrościcki. “The Recovered Modello of P. P. Rubens' Disembarkation at Marseilles. The Problem of Control and Censorship in the Cycle Life of Maria de' Medici," Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 26, No. 51 (JSTOR 2005), 226.
[4] Cohen, “Ruben’s France”, 495.
[5] Juliusz Chrościcki. “The Recovered Modello of P. P. Rubens' Disembarkation at Marseilles. The Problem of Control and Censorship in the Cycle Life of Maria de' Medici," Artibus et Historiae, Vol. 26, No. 51 (JSTOR 2005), 224.
[6] Sarah Cohen. “Ruben’s France: Gender and Personification in the Marie de Medici’s Cycle,” The Art Bulletin, Vol. 85, No.3. (JSTOR Sep., 2003), 509.
[7] Cohen, “Ruben’s France”, 508.
[8] Cohen, “Ruben’s France”, 503.
[9] Jacques Thuillier, Rubens’ Life of Marie de’ Medici (New York: Harry N, Abrams, 1967), 82.
[10] Thuillier, Rubens’ Life of Marie de’ Medici, 152.
[11]Thuillier, Rubens’ Life of Marie de’ Medici, 83.
[12] Thuillier, Rubens’ Life of Marie de’ Medici. 88.
[13] Sarah Cohen. “Ruben’s France: Gender and Personification in the Marie de Medici’s Cycle,” The Art Bulletin, Vol. 85, No.3. (JSTOR Sep., 2003), 492.
[14] Sarah Cohen. “Ruben’s France: Gender and Personification in the Marie de Medici’s Cycle,” The Art Bulletin, Vol. 85, No.3. (JSTOR Sep., 2003), 511.
[15] Jacques Thuillier, Rubens’ Life of Marie de’ Medici (New York: Harry N, Abrams, 1967), 89.
[16] Jacques Thuillier, Rubens’ Life of Marie de’ Medici, 92.
[17] Jacques Thuillier, Rubens’ Life of Marie de’ Medici (New York: Harry N, Abrams, 1967), 27.