The Marriage by Proxy of Marie de Medicis

The Marriage-by-Proxy of Marie de Medicis
Artist: Rubens;
Oil painting on canvas; Size: 394x295cm; Louvre, Paris.

In 1622 Rubens received the commission to decorate the gallery of the Luxembourg Palace in Paris with scenes from the life of Maria de' Medici, or Marie de Medicis as she was known in France, representing real episodes but glorifying them and often dressing them up as allegorical scenes.
In Florence, on October 5, 1600, Grand Duke Ferdinando delivered to his niece the ring sent by the king of France. Famous artist Rubens was present at the ceremony, and when the time came to represent the scene was able to fill it with details witnessed at firsthand: the men wear stockings without garters and with the upper part covered by breeches, and the ministrant has placed his cardinal's hat on the high altar. Hymen, the god leading the wedding procession, wreathed with flowers and carrying a torch, holds Maria's train.
On May 13, 1610, Henry IV celebrated the coronation of his wife, a ceremony prestige. The red of the cardinals' robes, as is often the case in Rubens, serves to concentrate the attention on the main motif: Maria in her cloak of blue velvet strewn with golden lilies. The geniuses throwing money allude to the distribution of coins with the effigy of the queen, a custom at such solemn celebrations. The red of the cardinals' robes, as is often the case in Rubens, serves to concentrate the attention on the main motif: Maria in her cloak of blue velvet strewn with golden lilies.