1625, English, Art work edition: Arrival of Marie de’ Medici at Marseilles; Marie de’ Medici, Queen of France, landing in Marseilles, 3 November 1600 Rubens, Peter Paul, Sir, 1577-1640

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Arrival of Marie de’ Medici at Marseilles; Marie de’ Medici, Queen of France, landing in Marseilles, 3 November 1600
 
Bookmark: http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/239561
Physical Description
  • Cross-Platform, 207.229 KB
  • Slide
Published
  • 1625 AD
Language
  • English

Edition details

Title
  • Arrival of Marie de’ Medici at Marseilles; Marie de’ Medici, Queen of France, landing in Marseilles, 3 November 1600
Creator
  • Rubens, Peter Paul, Sir, 1577-1640
Other Creators
  • Brigham Young University
Published
  • 1625 AD
Physical Description
  • Cross-Platform, 207.229 KB
  • Slide
Subjects
Notes
  • During the seventeenth century, Peter Paul Rubens was renowned as one of the greatest and most popular of all Baroque artists in Europe. He masterfully combined artistic developments from antiquity, the Italian Renaissance and Italian Baroque with his own Flemish painting heritage; the result was an innovative, dynamic style, known as International Baroque, which was truly the first pan-European manner. His exceptional education, courtly manners, social connections and intellectual abilities made him a favorite among all of the important courts at the time, not only as an artist, but also as a friend and ambassador. Rubens’ constant interaction with the aristocracy facilitated his development of a painterly approach that celebrated the lavish splendor favored in royal courts of the period. His wealthy and powerful patrons appreciated his ostentatious representations as propaganda to reinforce their authority and right to rule. A prime example of this type of official art is the series commissioned by Marie de’ Medici (1573 – 1642), in which Rubens was to promote her divine right to reign as Queen of France. Between 1622 and 1626, Rubens painted twenty-one enormous pictures that cleverly combine historical fact and allegorical fiction in flattering depictions of events from Marie’s life. These were hung in the Luxembourg, the queen’s new palace, in the center of Paris. The image here shows perhaps the most famous scene of the series, Arrival of Marie de’ Medici at Marseilles or Marie de’ Medici, Queen of France, landing in Marseilles, 3 November 1600. Marie is depicted in idealized glory, at the exact moment of her arrival in France after her voyage from Italy. All eyes focus on her as she disembarks, flanked by her ladies-in-waiting. As Henry was not there to meet her, she is welcomed by allegorical personifications of France, whose cape is decorated with fleur-de-lis (the floral symbol of French royalty), and the city of Marseilles, who wears a turreted hat. The actual voyage had been rough, and Fortune holds the rudder of the tiny ship bearing the Medici coat of arms. Neptune and the Nereids (daughters of the sea god Nereus) salute the beautiful young woman, while Fame flies overhead, trumpeting the glorious news of her arrival. The composition of this joyous scene is united by the universal decorative splendor and the bold vivacity that vibrates throughout the entire painting. Rubens’ unique style is manifested in the idealized and voluptuous figures, dramatic diagonal composition, convincing textures, and energetic brushstrokes; the other scenes from the series are similar in mood and style.; This painting depicts a scene from the life of Marie de’ Medici (1573 – 1642). As a member of the powerful Florentine Medici family, Marie brought a generous dowry and important connections to her marriage with Henry IV, the first of the Bourbon kings of France. The two were married in 1600, but Henry was assassinated ten years later, just one day after her coronation. Due to French Salic law, which forbade succession through the female line, Marie was unable to rule in her own right as Queen of France; however she did hold considerable power as the regent for her son Louis XIII during his minority, until he banished her in 1617 and again in 1630. During her lifetime, she was disliked by the French as a foreigner and a woman, and was seen as manipulative and ambitious beyond her station. Her commission of this series from Rubens reveals her continual attempt to establish her right to rule.
  • 12’ 11-½"" x 9’ 7""
  • civ metadata CID; Civ Archive 042 correct picture; 99100397.jpg
Source
  • Fred S. Kleiner and Christin J. Mamiya, Gardner's Art Through the Ages, 12th ed., vol 1 (Belmont, CA: Thomson/​Wadsworth, 2005), 713-716; Ann Sutherland Harris, Seventeenth-Century Art and Architecture (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005), 167.
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Language
  • English
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