Date : approx. between 1622 and 1625
Dimensions : 2.95 m x 3.94 m
Material : Oil on canvas
Acquisition : S?nat (1815)
Ecole flamande - P?riode Baroque
| Le triomphe de Juliers (1er septembre 1610)
Item 13 on 24
Flemish and Northern Painting
Painting (Tableau historique)
Area related
Paris (France)
Site related :
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| Description |  |
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The Victory at J?lich shows the only military event that the Queen participated in during her regency : the return of J?lich (or Juliers in French) to the Protestant princes. Being a crossing of Ruhr, Juliers was of great strategic importance for France and thus the French victory was chosen to be the glorious subject of Rubens' painting. The scene is rich with symbolism highlighting her heroism and victory. The Queen thrusts her arm high with an assembler's baton in hand. In the upper part of the image Victoria appears crowning her with laurel leaves which is a symbol of victory. Also symbolizing victory is the imperial eagle which can be seen in the distance. The eagle in the sky compels the weaker birds to flee. The Queen is accompanied by a womanly embodiment of what was once thought to be, Fortitude because of the lion beside her. However, the figure is Magnanimity, also referred to as Generosity, because of the riches held in her palm. One of the pieces in her hand is the Queen's treasured strand of pearls. Other figures include Fame and the personification of Austria with her lion. Fame in the right side of the painting pushes air through the trumpet so powerfully that a burst of smoke comes out. In the painting Marie de' Medici is highly decorated and triumphant after the collapse of a city, she is depicted across a white stallion to demonstrate that, like the departed King Henri IV, she could triumph over rivals in warfare.
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| Related article(s) | |
Commande de la reine Marie de Médicis à Rubens
En 1622, la reine Marie de Médicis, veuve d'Henri IV et mère de Louis XIII, commande à Rubens une suite de vingt-quatre tableaux pour décorer la galerie occidentale du premier étage de son palais du Luxembourg à Paris (actuel Sénat).
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