Marie de' Medici - Paris, France
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 48° 50.759 E 002° 20.185
31U E 451314 N 5410546
Located in the Jardin du Luxembourg, this sculpture is one of many prominent women in this area...mostly queens.
Waymark Code: WMD2NF
Location: Île-de-France, France
Date Posted: 11/10/2011
Views: 17
Marie de' Medici (1575-1642), the second wife of King Henry IV of France. The day after she was coronated as Queen, her husband was assassinated and she then served as Regent for son, King Louis XIII. Five of her six children lived to marry into other European Royal families.
This sculpture seems to depict her in middle age- rather rotund with a full length gown and cape...and carrying a sceptor in her gloved hands.
The artist is not indicated at the site. The dates of the life are listed as "1573-1642" but that appears to be inaccurate.
Wikipedia (
visit link) further informs us:
"Uncommonly beautiful in her youth, she married Henry IV of France in October 1600 following the annulment of his marriage to Margaret of Valois. The proxy wedding ceremony in Florence was celebrated with lavish entertainments, including examples of the newly-invented musical genre of opera. She brought as part of her dowry 600,000 crowns. Her eldest son, the future King Louis XIII, was born at Fontainebleau the following year.
The marriage was not a successful one. The queen feuded with Henry's mistresses in language that shocked French courtiers. She quarrelled mostly with her husband's leading mistress, Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues, whom he had promised he would marry following the death of his former "official mistress", Gabrielle d'Estrées.[2] When he failed to do so, and instead married Marie, the result was constant bickering and political intrigues behind the scenes. Although the king could have easily banished his mistress, supporting his queen, he never did so. She, in turn, showed great sympathy and support to her husband's banished ex-wife Margaret of Valois, prompting Henry to allow her back into the realm."