Marie de' Medici

Marie de' Medici
Portrait byFrans Pourbus the Younger
Queen consort of FranceandNavarre
Tenure	17 December 1600 – 14 May 1610
Coronation	13 May 1610
Born	26 April 1575 Palazzo Pitti,Florence,Tuscany
Died	3 July 1642(1642-07-03)(aged 67) Sternengasse 10,Cologne
Burial	8 March 1643 Basilica of St Denis,Paris,France
Spouse	Henry IV of France ​ ​ (m.1600; died 1610)​
Issue	Louis XIII, King of France Elisabeth, Queen of Spain and Portugal Christine, Duchess of Savoy Nicolas Henri, Duke of Orléans Gaston, Duke of Orléans Henrietta Maria, Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland
House	Medici
Father	Francesco I, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Mother	Joanna of Austria
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature

Marie de' Medici(French:Marie de Médicis;Italian:Maria de' Medici;26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) wasQueen of FranceandNavarreas the second wife ofKing Henry IV.Marie served asregent of Francebetween 1610 and 1617 during the minority of her sonLouis XIII.Her mandate as regent legally expired in 1614, when her son reached the age of majority, but she refused to resign and continued as regent until she was removed by a coup in 1617.

Marie was a member of the powerfulHouse of Mediciin the branch of thegrand dukes of Tuscany.Her family's wealth inspired Henry IV to choose Marie as his second wife after his divorce from his previous wife,Margaret of Valois.The assassination of her husband in 1610, which occurred the day after hercoronation,caused her to act asregentfor her son, Louis XIII, until 1614, when he officially attained his legal majority, but as the head of theConseil du Roi,she retained the power.

Noted for her ceaseless political intrigues at the French court, her extensive artistic patronageand herfavourites(the most famous beingConcino ConciniandLeonora Dori), she ended up being banished from the country by her son and dying in the city ofCologne,in theHoly Roman Empire.

Life

Early years

Maria de' Medici as a child. Currently at thePalazzo Pitti,Florence.

Maria de' Medici as a young woman, bySanti di Tito,ca. 1590.

Born at thePalazzo PittiofFlorence,Italyon 26 April 1575,Maria was the sixth daughter ofFrancesco I de' Medici,Grand Duke of Tuscany,andArchduchess Joanna of Austria.She was a descendant ofLorenzo the Elder–a branch of theMedicifamily sometimes referred to as the 'cadet' branch– and was also aHabsburgthrough her mother, who was a direct descendant ofJoanna of CastileandPhilip I of Castile.

Of her five elder sisters, only the eldest,Eleonora(born 28 February 1567) and the third,Anna(born 31 December 1569) survived infancy. Their only brotherPhilip de' Medici,was born on 20 May 1577. One year later (10 April 1578) Grand Duchess Joanna –heavily pregnant with her eighth child– fell from the stairs in the Grand Ducal Palace in Florence, dying the next day after giving birth to a premature stillborn son. A few months later, Grand Duke Francesco I married his longtime mistressBianca Cappello;the marriage was officially revealed one year later, on 12 June 1579.In a few years, Maria also lost two of her siblings, Philip (died 29 March 1582 aged 4) and Anna (died 19 February 1584 aged 14).

Maria and her only surviving sister, Eleonora (with whom she had a close relationship) spent their childhood at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, placed under the care of a governess along with their paternal first-cousinVirginio Orsini(son ofIsabella de' Medici,Duchess ofBracciano).

After her sister's marriage in 1584 withVincenzo Gonzaga,heir of theDuchy of Mantua,and her departure to her husband's homeland, Maria's only playmate was her first cousin Virginio Orsini, to whom she deferred all her affection. In addition, her stepmother brought a female companion to the Palazzo Pitti for Maria, a young girl namedDianora Dori,who would be renamed Leonora. This young girl, a few years older than Maria, soon gained great influence over the princess, to the point that Maria would not make decisions without talking to Leonora first.

On the 19th and 20 October, in 1587, at the Villa Medici inPoggio a Caiano,Grand Duke Francesco I and Bianca Cappello died.They may have been poisoned, but some historians believe they were killed by malarial fever. Now orphaned, Maria was considered the richest heiress in Europe.

Maria's uncleFerdinando I de' Medicibecame the new Grand Duke of Tuscany and marriedChristina of Lorraine(granddaughter of the famousCatherine de' Medici,Queen of France) in 1589. Notwithstanding his desire to give an heir to his dynasty, the new Grand Duke gave his orphaned nephew and niece a good education. Maria was interested inscience;she enjoyed learning aboutmathematics,philosophy,astronomy,as well as the arts.She was also passionate about jewelry and precious stones. Very devout, she was known to keep an open mind, and to depend on those around her for support.

Close to the artists of her nativeFlorence,Maria was trained in drawing byJacopo Ligozzi,and she was reportedly very talented; she also played music (singing and practicing theguitarand thelute) and enjoyed theater, dance, and comedy.

The wealth of the Medici family attracted many suitors, in particular the younger brother of her aunt Grand Duchess Christina,François, Count of Vaudémontand heir of theDuchy of Lorraine.But soon, a more prestigious suitor presented himself: KingHenry IV of France.

Queen of France

Marie de Médicis, by Pietro Facchetti, c. 1595, Palazzo De Torres-Lancellotti,Rome

The marriage of Henry IV with Maria de' Medici represented above all, for France, a solution to dynastic and financial concerns: it was said that the French king "owed the bride's father, Francesco de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who had helped support his war effort, a whopping 1,174,000 écus and this was the only means Henry could find to pay back the debt..."In addition, the Medici family—banking creditors of the Kings of France—promised a dowry of 600,000écusd'or(2 million livres including 1 million paid in cash to cancel the debt contracted by France with the Medici bank),which earned the future Queen the nickname "the big banker" (la grosse banquière) from her jealous rival,Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues,Henry IV's currentmaîtresse-en-titre.Moreover, Maria de' Medici was the granddaughter ofFerdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor(in office: 1556–1564), thereby ensuring and reinforcing a legitimate royal descent for prospective future members of theHouse of Bourbon(theCatholic LeagueandHabsburg Spainhad questioned Bourbon legitimacy during the previousFrench Succession Warof 1589 -c.1593).

After having obtained the annulment of his union toMargaret of Valoisin December 1599,Henry IV officially started negotiations for his new marriage with Maria de' Medici. The marriage contract was signed in Paris in March 1600 and official ceremonies took place inTuscanyandFrancefrom October to December of the same year: themarriage by proxytook place at theCathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore(now Florence Cathedral) on 5 October 1600 with Henry IV's favorite theDuc de Bellegarderepresenting the French sovereign. The celebrations were attended by 4,000 guests with lavish entertainment, including examples of the newly invented musical genre ofopera,such asJacopo Peri'sEuridice.

Coronation of Marie de' Medici in St. Denis(detail), byPeter Paul Rubens,1622–1625

Maria (now known by the French usage of her name,Marie de Médicis) left Florence forLivornoon 23 October, accompanied by 2,000 people who made up her suite, and set off forMarseille,which she reached on November 3.Antoinette de Pons,Marquise de Guercheville andPremière dame d'honneurof the new Queen, was responsible for welcoming her to Marseille. After her disembarkation, Marie continued her trip, arriving atLyonon 3 December. She and Henry IV finally met on 9 December and spent their wedding night together. On 17 December, thePapal legatefinally arrived, and gave his blessing to the religious wedding ceremony at theCathedral of Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Lyon.

Marie de Médicis and her son the Dauphin (future Louis XIII) by Charles Martin, 1603. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Blois.

Marie gave birth to her first child, a son, on 27 September 1601 at thePalace of Fontainebleau.The boy, namedLouis,and automatically upon birth heir to the throne andDauphin of France,was born to the great satisfaction of the King and France, which had been waiting for the birth of a Dauphin for more than forty years. Marie gave birth to five more children (three daughters and two more sons) between 1602 and 1609; however, during 1603–1606 she was effectively separated from her husband.

Although the marriage succeeded in producing children, it was not a happy one. Marie was of a very jealous temperament, and she refused to accept her husband's numerous infidelities; indeed, he forced his wife to rub shoulders withhis mistresses.She mostly quarreled with themaîtresse-en-titreCatherine de Balzac d'Entragues (whom Henry IV had allegedly promised he would marry following the death in 1599 of his formermaîtresse-en-titre,Gabrielle d'Estrées) in a language that shocked French courtiers; also, it was said in court that Henry IV took Marie only for breeding purposes exactly asHenry IIhad treatedCatherine de' Medici.Although the King could have easily banished his mistress, supporting his wife, he never did so. Marie, in turn, showed great sympathy and support to her husband's banished ex-wife Marguerite de Valois, prompting Henry IV to allow her back toParis.

Another bone of contention concerned the proper maintenance of Marie's household as Queen of France: despite the enormous dowry she brought to the marriage, her husband often refused her the money necessary to pay all the expenses that she intended to carry out to show everyone her royal rank. Household scenes took place, followed by periods of relative peace. Marie was also very keen to be officially crowned Queen of France, but Henry IV postponed the ceremony for political reasons.

Marie had to wait until 13 May 1610 to be finallycrownedQueen of France.At this time Henry IV was about to depart to fight in theWar of Succession over the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg;the coronation aimed to confer greater legitimacy on the Queen from the perspective of a possible regency which she would be called upon to provide in the absence of the King.The very next day (14 May), Henry IV wasassassinatedbyFrançois Ravaillac- which immediately raised suspicions of a conspiracy.

Regency

Marie de Médicis, byFrans Pourbus the Younger,c. 1606.Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao.

Within hours after Henry IV's assassination, Marie was confirmed as Regent by the Parliament of Paris on behalf of her son and new King, eight-year-old Louis XIII.She immediately banished her late husband's mistress, Catherine de Balzac d'Entragues, from the court.At first, she kept the closest advisers of Henry IV in the key court positions and took for herself (1611) the title ofGoverness of the Bastille,although she entrusted the physical custody of this important Parisian fortress to Joachim de Chateauvieux, her knight of honor, who took direct command as a lieutenant of the Queen-Regent.

From the beginning, Marie was under suspicion at court because she was perceived as a foreigner and never truly mastered French;moreover, she was heavily influenced by her Italian friends and confidants, including her foster sisterLeonora "Galigai" DoriandConcino Concini,who was created Marquis d'Ancre and aMarshal of France,even though he had never fought a single battle.The Concinis had Henry IV's able minister, theDuke of Sully,dismissed, and Italian representatives of theRoman Catholic Churchhoped to force the suppression ofProtestantismin France by means of their influence. However, Marie maintained her late husband's policy ofreligious tolerance.As one of her first acts, Marie reconfirmed Henri IV'sEdict of Nantes,which ordered religious tolerance for Protestants in France while asserting the supremacy of the Roman Catholic Church.

To further consolidate her authority as Regent of the Kingdom of France, Marie decided to impose the strict protocol from the court of Spain. An avid ballet performer and art collector, she deployed artistic patronage that helped develop the arts in France. Daughter of a Habsburg archduchess, the Queen-Regent abandoned the traditional anti-Habsburg French foreign policy (one of her first acts was the overturn of theTreaty of Bruzolo,an alliance signed between Henry IV's representatives andCharles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy), and formed an alliance withHabsburg Spainwhich culminated in 1615 with the double marriage of her daughterElisabethand her sonLouis XIIIwith the two children of KingPhilip III of Spain,Philip, Prince of Asturias(future Philip IV) andAnne of Austria,respectively.

Nevertheless, the Queen-Regent's policy caused discontent. On the one hand, Protestants were worried about the rapprochement of Marie with Spain; on the other hand, Marie's attempts to strengthen her power by relying on the Concinis deeply displeased part of the French nobility. Stirring up xenophobic passion, the nobility designated the Italian immigrants favored by Marie as responsible for all the wrongs of the kingdom. They are getting richer, they said, at our expense. Taking advantage of the clear weakness of the Regency, theprinces of the bloodunder the leadership ofHenri II, Prince of Condé,rebelled against Marie.

Portrait byFrans Pourbus the Younger,1610.Louvre Museum,Paris.

In application of the Treaty ofSainte-Menehould(15 May 1614), the Queen-Regent convened theEstates GeneralinParis.The Prince of Condé failed to structure his opposition to royal power. However, Marie undertook to cement the alliance with Spain and to ensure respect for the theses of theCouncil of Trent.The reforms of thepauletteand thetailleremained a dead letter. The clergy played the role of arbiter between theThird Estateand the nobility who did not manage to get along: Civil lieutenant Henri de Mesmes declared that "all the Estates were brothers and children of a common mother, France", while one of the representatives of the nobility replied that he refused to be the brother of a child of a shoemaker or cobbler. This antagonism benefited the court, which soon pronounced the closure of the Estates General. The Regency was officially ended following theLit de justiceof 2 October 1614, which declared that Louis XIII had attained his legal majority of age, but Marie then became head of theConseil du Roiand retained all her control over the government.

One year after the end of the Estates General, a new rebellion of the Prince of Condé allowed his entry into theConseil du Roiby theTreaty of Loudun(3 May 1616), which also granted him the sum of 1,500,000 livres and the government ofGuyenne.During this time, the Protestants obtained a reprieve of six years to the return of their places of safety to the royal power.

In 1616, the requirements of the Prince of Condé became so important that Marie had him arrested on 1 September and imprisoned him in the Bastille. TheDuke of Neversthen took the leadership of the nobility in revolt against the Queen. Nevertheless, Marie's rule was strengthened by the appointment ofArmand Jean du Plessis (later Cardinal Richelieu)—who had come to prominence at the meetings of the Estates General—asSecretary of State for Foreign Affairson 5 November 1616.

Despite being legally an adult for more than two years,Louis XIIIhad little power in the government; finally, he asserted his authority the next year. Feeling humiliated by the conduct of his mother, who monopolized power, the King organized (with the help of his favorite theDuc de Luynes) acoup d'état(also namedCoup de majesté) on 24 April 1617: Concino Concini was assassinated by theMarquis de Vitry,and Marie exiled to theChâteau de Blois.

Revolt of 1619 and return from exile

In the night of 21–22 February 1619, the 43-year-old Queen Mother escaped from her prison in Blois with a rope ladder and by scaling a wall of 40 m. Gentlemen took her across the Pont de Blois and riders sent by theDuc d'Épernonescorted Marie in his coach. She took refuge in theChâteau d'Angoulêmeand provoked an uprising against her son the King, the so-called "war of mother and son" (guerre de la mère et du fils).

A first treaty, theTreaty of Angoulême,negotiated by Richelieu, calmed the conflict. However, the Queen Mother was not satisfied and relaunched the war by rallying the great nobles of the Kingdom to her cause ( "second war of mother and son" ). The noble coalition was quickly defeated at theBattle of Ponts-de-Cé(7 August 1620) by Louis XIII, who forgave his mother and the princes.

Aware that he could not avoid the formation of plots as long as his mother remained in exile, the King accepted her return to court. She then returned to Paris, where she worked on the construction of herLuxembourg Palace.After the death of the Duc de Luynes in December 1621, she gradually made her political comeback. Richelieu played an important role in her reconciliation with the king and even managed to bring the queen mother back to theConseil du Roi.Following the death of Luynes, Louis determined that he would rule by council, Marie, who had won presence to the council, exerted great influence over her son and his council by agreeing.

Artistic patronage

Marie de Médicis, byPeter Paul Rubens,1622.Museo del Prado.

The reconciliation of mother and son,byPeter Paul Rubens,1622–1625.LouvreMuseum.

Lace cut parchment page of Marie de Medici's Prayer Book with miniature painting

From the time of her marriage to Henri IV, the Queen practiced ambitious artistic patronage, and placed under her protection several painters, sculptors and scholars. For her apartments at thePalace of Fontainebleau,the Flemish-born painterAmbroise Duboiswas recruited to decorate Marie'scabinetswith a series of paintings on the theme of theEthiopicsofHeliodorus,and painted for her gallery an important decoration on the theme of Diana and Apollo, mythological evocations of the royal couple. In theLouvre,the Queen had a luxurious apartment on the first floor fitted out, then moved in 1614 to a new apartment on the ground floor, which she had adorned with panels and paintings by Ambroise Dubois,Jacob Bunel,Guillaume Dumée, and Gabriel Honnet on the theme ofJerusalem DeliveredofTorquato Tasso(whose translation byAntoine de Nervèzewas Marie's first reading in French). The Queen also patronized with portrait painters, such as Charles Martin and especially the FlemishFrans Pourbus the Younger.

During and after the regency, Marie de Médicis played a major role in the development of Parisian artistic life by focusing on the construction and furnishing of the Luxembourg Palace, which she referred to as her "Palais Médicis". The site was purchased in 1612 and construction began in 1615, to designs ofSalomon de Brosse.In particular, she tried to attract several large-scale artists to Paris: she brought inThe AnnunciationbyGuido Reni,was offered a suite ofMusespainted byGiovanni Baglione,invited the painterOrazio Gentileschi(who stayed in Paris during two years, during 1623–1625), and especially the Flemish painterPeter Paul Rubens,who was commissioned by her to create a 21-piece series glorifying her life and reign to be part of her art collection in the Luxembourg Palace. This series (composed between 1622 and 1625), along with three individual portraits made for Marie and her family, is now known as the "Marie de' Medici cycle"(currently displayed in theLouvreMuseum); the cycle uses iconography throughout to depict Henry IV and Marie as Jupiter and Juno and the French state as a female warrior.

The Queen-Mother's attempts to convincePietro da CortonaandGuercinoto travel to Paris ended in failure, but during the 1620s the Luxembourg Palace became one of the most active decorative projects in Europe: sculptors such as Guillaume Berthelot andChristophe Cochet,painters likeJean Monieror the youngPhilippe de Champaigne,and evenSimon Voueton his return to Paris, participated in the decoration of the apartments of the Queen-Mother.

A parchmentPrayer Bookbelonging to Marie de' Medici has artwork that may date from the 15th century, but is also remarkable for its canivet cuttings. Pages are cut with intricate patterns that are made to look like lace of the period.

Conflict with Richelieu, exile and death

Marie continued to attend theConseil du roiby following the advice of Cardinal Richelieu and was influential on policy plans and its details, and because of their close relationship Marie introduced Richelieu to the King as minister. She believed that it is better for the king to rule through a minister who is loyal to her than by a council where some people may be against her. Over the years, she did not notice the rising power of herprotégé;when she realized it, she broke with the Cardinal and sought to oust him. Still not understanding the personality of her son and still believing that it would be easy for her to demand the disgrace of Richelieu from him, she tried to obtain the dismissal of the minister. After the "Day of the Dupes"(Journée des Dupes) of 10–11 November 1630, Richelieu remained the principal minister, and the Queen Mother was constrained to be reconciled with him.

Engraving of Marie de Médicis.

The exiled Queen Marie de Médicis with coronet overlooking Cologne,byAnthony van Dyck.Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille.

Marie ultimately decided to withdraw from court. Louis XIII, judging his mother too involved in intrigue, encouraged her to retire to theChâteau de Compiègne.From there, she fled on 19 July 1631 towards the city ofÉtrœungt(in theCounty of Hainaut), where she slept before going toBrussels.She intended to plead her case there, but the escape was only a political trap set by her son, who had withdrawn the regiments guarding the Château de Compiègne. Now a refugee with the Spanish, enemies of France, Marie was thus deprived of her pensions.

Her chaplain Mathieu de Morgues, who remained faithful to Marie in his exile, wrote pamphlets against Richelieu that circulated in France clandestinely. During her last years, Marie travelled to various European courts, in theSpanish Netherlands(the ruler of which,Isabella Clara Eugenia,and the ambassadorBalthazar Gerbiertried to reconcile her with Richelieu), inEnglandat the court of her daughter QueenHenrietta Mariafor three years (staying en route toLondoninGidea Hall) and then inGermany;with her daughters and sons-in-law where she tried again to form a "league of sons-in-law" against France, without ever being able to return, and her supporters were imprisoned, banished or condemned to death.

Her visit toAmsterdamwas considered a diplomatic triumph by the Dutch, as it lent official recognition to the newly-formedDutch Republic;accordingly, she was given an elaborate ceremonialroyal entry,of the sort the Republic avoided for its own rulers. Spectacular displays (byClaes Corneliszoon Moeyaert) and water pageants took place in the city's harbour in celebration of her visit. There was a procession led by two mounted trumpeters, and a large temporary structure was erected on an artificial island in theAmstel Riverespecially for the festival. The structure was designed to display a series of dramatictableauxin tribute to her once she set foot on the floating island and entered itspavilion.Afterwards she was offered anIndonesian rice tableby the burgomaster,Albert Burgh.He also sold her a famousrosary,captured in Brazil. The visit promptedCaspar Barlaeusto write hisMedicea hospes( "The Medicean Guest", 1638).

Marie subsequently traveled toCologne,where she took refuge in a house loaned by her friend, the painterRubens.She fell ill in June 1642 and died of a bout ofpleurisyin destitution on 3 July 1642, five months before Richelieu. It was not until 8 March 1643 that her body was finally laid to rest in France, in theBasilica of St Denis,The burial was held without much ceremony, and her heart was sent toLa Flèche,in accordance with the wish of Henry IV, who wanted their two hearts to be reunited. Her son Louis XIII died on 14 May, only two months after the funeral.

In 1793, during theFrench Revolution,Queen Marie was dug up by the French revolutionists insults were thrown at the remains of the Queen whom they accused of having murdered her husband. Some among them tore out the remaining tufts of her hair still attached to the skull and passed them around. Some of her bones were found floating in muddy water and her remains was thrown into a mass grave along with other French deceased royals. In 1817,Louis XVIIIordered that those royals buried in the mass grave be reburied. Marie in 1817 was reburied in the crypt ofBasilica of Saint Denis.

Posthumous appraisal

Honoré de Balzac,in his essaySur Catherine de Médicis,encapsulated the Romantic generation's negative view. She was born and raised in Italy and the French never really accepted her; hence, the negative reviews. However, Henry IV of France was not a rich man and needed Marie's money. The French were still not pleased with him choosing an Italian wife.

Marie de' Medici, all of whose actions were prejudicial to France, has escaped the shame which ought to cover her name. Marie de' Medici wasted the wealth amassed by Henry IV; she never purged herself of the charge of having known of the king's assassination; herintimatewasd'Épernon,who did not ward off Ravaillac's blow, and who was proved to have known the murderer personally for a long time. Marie's conduct was such that she forced her son to banish her from France, where she was encouraging her other son, Gaston.

Jules Micheletalso contributed to the denigration of Marie de Médicis.

Issue

Marie de' Medici and her family (1607; byFrans Pourbus the younger).

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Louis XIII, King of France	27 September 1601	14 May 1643	MarriedAnne of Austria(1601–1666) in 1615. Two sons survived to adulthood.
Elisabeth, Queen of Spain	22 November 1602	6 October 1644	MarriedPhilip IV, King of Spain(1605–1665) in 1615. A son and a daughter survived to adulthood.
Christine, Duchess of Savoy	10 February 1606	27 December 1663	MarriedVictor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy(1587–1637) in 1619. One son and three daughters survived to adulthood.
Son, Duke of Orléans	16 April 1607	17 November 1611	Died without being baptized; named Nicholas or Nicholas-Henry in certain works.
Gaston, Duke of Orléans	25 April 1608	2 February 1660	Married (1)Marie de Bourbon(1605–1627) in 1626. 1 daughter survived to adulthood. Married (2)Marguerite of Lorraine(1615–1672) in 1632. Three daughters survived to adulthood.
Henrietta Maria, Queen of England	25 November 1609	10 September 1669	MarriedCharles I, King of England(1600–1649) in 1625. Three sons and two daughters survived to adulthood.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Marie de' Medici

8.Giovanni delle Bande Nere 4.Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany 9.Maria Salviati 2.Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany 10.Pedro Álvarez de Toledo y Zúñiga 5.Eleanor of Toledo 11.María Osorio y Pimentel, 2nd Marquise of Villafranca del Bierzo 1.Marie de' Medici 12.Philip I of Castile 6.Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor 13.Joanna I of Castile 3.Joanna of Austria 14.Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary 7.Anne of Bohemia and Hungary 15.Anne of Foix-Candale

See also

• Henry IV of France's wives and mistresses
• House of Medici

Bibliography

• Bassani Pacht, Paola (2003).Marie de Médicis: un gouvernement par les arts(in French). Paris: Somogy.ISBN2-85056-710-8.OCLC54540822.
• Baudouin-Matuszek, Marie-Noëlle (1991).Marie de Médicis et le Palais du Luxembourg(in French). Paris: Délégation à l'action artistique de la Ville de Paris.ISBN2-905118-37-7.OCLC25462248.
• Carmona, Michel (1981).Marie de Médicis(in French). Paris: Fayard.ISBN2-213-01044-7.OCLC185443497.
• Chiarini, Marco (2002). "Cosimo II and Maria Maddalena of Austria".The Medici, Michelangelo, & the Art of Late Renaissance Florence.Yale University Press.77
• Delaunay, Mathieu (2005). "Les Ancêtres de Marie de Médicis".Reine de France(in French). Paris: Éditions généalogiques de la Voûte.ISBN2-84766-253-7.
• Dubost, Jean-François (September 1993).La Prise du pouvoir parLouis XIII(in French).L'Histoire.pp. 28–34.
• Dubost, Jean-François (2011)."L'après Henri IV".Europa Moderna. Revue d'histoire et d'iconologie(in French).2(2): 5–14.doi:10.3406/emod.2011.849.
• Dubost, Jean-François (2009).Marie de Médicis, la reine dévoilée.Paris: Payot: Biographie Payot.ISBN978-2-228-90393-6.OCLC318870555.online text 1online text 2
• Dubost, Jean-François (1997)."La France italienne, XVI-XVII siècle".Aubier histoires(in French). Paris: Aubier Montaigne.ISBN2-7007-2276-0..
• Duccini, Hélène (1991).Concini, grandeur et mi sắc re du favori de Marie de Médicis.Paris: Albin Michel.ISBN2-226-05265-8..
• Fumaroli, Marc; Graziani, Françoise and Solinas Francesco,Le « Siècle » de Marie de Médicis, actes du séminaire de la chaire rhétorique et société en Europe (xvie-xviie siècles) du Collège de France(in French). Edizioni dell'Orso 2003
• Goldstone, Nancy (2015).The rival queens: Catherine de' Medici, her daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the betrayal that ignited a kingdom.New York: Little, Brown and Company.ISBN978-0-316-40967-4.OCLC908108250.
• Hübner, Helga and Regtmeier, Eva (2010),Maria de' Medici: eine Fremde;edition by Dirk Hoeges (in German) (Literatur und Kultur Italiens und Frankreichs;vol. 14). Frankfurt: Peter LangISBN978-3-631-60118-1
• Kermina, Françoise (2010).Marie de Médicis(in French). Paris: Perrin.ISBN978-2-262-03298-2.
• Mamone, Sara (1990).Paris et Florence: deux capitales du spectacle pour une reine, Marie de Médicis(in Italian). Translated by Sophie Bajard. Paris: Seuil.ISBN2020122286.OCLC23128919..
• Thiroux d'Arconville, Marie-Geneviève-Charlotte,Vie de Marie de Médicis, princesse de Toscane, reine de France et de Navarre,3 vol. in-8°.
• La France de la monarchie absolue, 1610-1715(in French). Paris: Seuil. 1997.

External links

• Rubens cycle of paintings apotheosizing Marie de MediciDefinitive statements ofBaroqueart.
• National Maritime Museum
• DrawingbyClaes Cornelisz. Moeyaertthe entrance of Maria de Medici in Amsterdam
• Festival Books
• Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913)."Maria de' Medici".Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.
• Life of Marie dei Médicis. Engravings after Rubens from the De Verda Collection
• "Medicea Hospes, Sive Descripto Pvblicae Gratvlations:qua Serenissiman, Augustissimamque reginam, Mariam de Meicis, except Senatvs popvlvvsqve Amstelodamensis "(1638), Illustrated with engravings of Maia de' Meici