The Felicity of the Regency of Marie de' Medici
The Marie de' Medici Cycle is a collection of 24 oil-on-canvas paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, made from 1622 to 1624. They were commissioned by Marie de' Medici, widow of King Henry IV of France and former Queen Regent for her eldest son, Louis XIII, with whom she had a contentious relationship.
Twenty-one of the paintings portray stylized events of notable events in Marie's life; Rubens surrounded her with figures from Classical Mythology and frequently used allegory to represent the highlights and gloss over the more unfavorable portions of the Queen's history. In order, the 21 narrative paintings are:
- The Destiny of Marie de' Medici: Jupiter and Juno oversee the three Fates handle the thread of Marie's life. Notably, the thread is not shown being cut.
- The Birth of the Princess: Marie is born.
- Education of the Princess: Marie is educated by the gods Mercury, Apollo, and Minerva, and given beauty by the Three Graces.
- The Presentation of Her Portrait to Henry IV: Love gods present Marie's portrait to her future husband Henry IV, who is instantly smitten.
- The Wedding by Proxy of Marie de' Medici to King Henry IV: Marie marries Henry IV by proxy, with her uncle standing in for her husband.
- The Disembarkation at Marseilles: Marie arrives in France.
- The Meeting of Marie de' Medici and Henry IV at Lyons: Marie-as-Juno meets Henry-as-Jupiter.
- The Birth of the Dauphin at Fontainebleau: Marie gives birth to Louis XIII.
- The Consignment of the Regency: Marie is entrusted with the French regency.
- The Coronation in Saint-Denis: Marie is crowned Queen Regent.
- The Death of Henry IV and the Proclamation of the Regency: Henry IV dies and is welcomed up to Olympus; Marie is entrusted with the regency on a more permanent basis.
- The Council of the Gods: Marie oversees her kingdom.
- The Regent Militant: The Victory at Jülich: The aftermath of a triumphant military victory.
- The Exchange of the Princesses at the Spanish Border: Marie's son Louis is married to Anna of Austria, and her daughter Elisabeth to Philip IV of Spain.
- The Felicity of the Regency of Marie de' Medici: Marie holds court over the gods, symbolizing a prosperous reign.
- Louis XIII Comes of Age: Marie hands over leadership of France to her son Louis, symbolized by them standing at the front of a boat and Marie passing the rudder to him.
- The Flight from Blois: Depicts Marie's escape from her confinement.
- The Negotiations at Angoulême: Depicts the Treaty of Angoulême as Marie taking an olive branch from the god Mercury.
- The Queen Opts for Security: After Marie's attempt at waging war on Louis fails, she signs a truce at Angers.
- Reconciliation of the Queen and her Son: Marie and Louis make up, symbolized by a hydra getting struck down.
- The Triumph of Truth: Marie and Louis make peace in heaven.
The final three paintings are portraits of Marie, her father Francesco I, and her mother Johanna of Austria.
There were also plans for a complementary gallery about the life of Henry IV, but Cardinal Richelieu's growing influence and Marie's subsequent exile put a stop to that. Sketches for this gallery survive.
The Marie de' Medici cycle occupies a gallery of its own in the Louvre.
Tropes:
- Antagonistic Offspring: Rubens politely chronicled Louis's coup d'etat against his mother and the cycle's "protagonist" Marie, Marie's escape and subsequent rallying against him, the treaties that ended this conflict, and Marie and Louis's eventual reconciliation.
- Arranged Marriage: The Exchange of the Princesses at the Spanish Border depicts the marriages of Anna of Austria to Marie's son Louis, and Louis's sister Elisabeth to the Spanish king, political marriages arranged for alliances.
- Awesome Moment of Crowning: Rubens' stylized depiction of Marie being crowned Queen Regent. Various members of the court attend, the cardinals are decked in striking red, and the goddesses Abundantia and Victoria shower Marie with coins for prosperity.
- The Epic: The collection is a Sequential Artwork containing no less than 21 paintings (a veritable commission) telling the life of Marie de' Medici as she grows up to become the Queen of France. Every important milestone is embellished to evoke a feeling of grandiosity —her birth and upbringing are both blessed and aided by god; when she falls in love with her future husband, is love at first sight; her military victories are pompous accomplishments, her temporary falling out with her son is soul-crushing; her escape from confinement is a high-stakes journey; etc. While her struggles are glossed over in order to paint her as favorably as possible, the way it's presented highlights that France's fate depends on her (prosperous) reign. One extra detail; she has an implied 'Invocation of the Muse' of sorts when the god Mercury extends an olive branch to her when she signs the Treaty of Angoulême.
- God Couple: Zeus and Hera (contrary to their usual depiction in the Greek myths) consistently put on a harmonious display of approval of Marie's wedded life from Olympus, and Henry and Marie are consistently equated to Jupiter and Juno as a display of a ruling couple with a prosperous marriage. (In real life, their marriage was not quite as happy.)
- Heavenly Concentric Circles: "The Exchange of the Princesses at the Spanish Border" features a circle of cheerful, butterfly-winged putti flying around Felicitas, the Roman goddess of good luck. Between the putti and Felicitas, there's a ring made of white clouds. It reinforces the idea that royals rule with heaven's blessing, especially when they marry as it's a symbol of new beginnings.
- Love Before First Sight: In The Presentation of Her Portrait to Henry IV, Henry IV is smitten by a portrait of Marie. Their proxy wedding follows soon after.
- Love God: Cupid and Hymenaios recur throughout the cycle as symbols of love and marriage.
- Mundane Fantastic: At the time of the painting's creation, monarchies were justified by having the Christian god's blessing. As a result, royalty and, more specifically, Marie is seen mingling with gods, anthropomorphic personifications of concepts, and other preternatural beings. None of the subjects bats an eye at the sight.
- Nations as People: The womanly personification of France is more or less a supporting character; she approves of Henry's marriage to Marie and gives Marie the tools of government after Henry dies. A personification of Spain joins in The Exchange of the Princesses at the Spanish Border, approving of the marriage of the French princess to the Spanish king.
- Our Hydras Are Different: A many-headed hydra shows up to get slain in Reconciliation of the Queen and her Son, struck down by Divine Providence and symbolizing the end of Marie and Louis's conflict.
- Princess Protagonist: During the first four paintings, Marie is a French princess; then, in the fifth, she marries and becomes Queen of France. The complete series narrates her life very epically, with the constant intervention of gods.
- Protagonist Title: The Cycle is a series of paintings devoted to narrating the life of Marie de Medici, Regent Queen of France, as if were an epic.
- Putto: Two chubby baby-like angels are seen in the low left of The Birth of the Princess. They're playing with a shield with the Medici crest on it.
- Threads of Fate: The Destiny of Marie de' Medici depicts the three Fates from Classical Mythology holding the titular Queen of France's life thread just as she is being born. Notably, they make no attempt at cutting it, indicating that the Queen has a long and prosperous life awaiting her.
- Sequential Art: It's a collection of oil paintings that narrate the life of the Regent Queen of France as if it were an epic. They feature a plethora of deities and creatures from Classical Mythology to serve as guides for Marie and as storytelling allegories.
- White Stallion: To make Marie look extra heroic in The Regent Militant: The Victory at Jülich, she is riding an all-white horse.
