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Portrait of Marie de' Medici, Queen of France, as Juno
(Baroque Europe )
Marie de' Medici (1573-1642) is represented here as the Roman goddess Juno, the powerful wife of Jupiter, king of the Olympian gods, in whose guise her husband Henry IV is shown in the companion statuette. She is accompanied by a peacock, said by ancient writers to have been the bird that pulls Juno's chariot, signifying her splendor.
Portraits of the queen that accompany those of the king-including a double portrait on a medal in the case nearby-show her in a supporting role. After Henry's murder in 1609, she became regent for her underage son, the future Louis XIII, and a great patron of the arts in her own right.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Jacques Seligmann, Paris, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1910, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2002 | Women Who Ruled: Queens, Goddesses, Amazons 1500-1650. The University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor; The Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis; Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley College, Wellesley. |
| 2000 | Small Northern European Portraits from The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. National Gallery of Art, Washington. |
| 1971-1972 | World of Wonder. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 3/29/1961 | Treatment | cleaned |
Geographies
France, Paris (Place of Origin)
Measurements
19 1/8 in. (48.5 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1910
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
54.668