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 27^th 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.

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^[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.