3-097-974 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Marie de' Medici, Queen of France, 1655. Marie de' Medici (1575-1643) was the daughter of Ferdinand I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Joanna of Austria. Her uncle, Grand Duke Francesco, arranged her marriage to King Henry IV of France in 1600, granting her a substantial dowry of 600,000 gold crowns. Upon her husband's death, she served as regent for her son, Louis XIII, from 1610 to 1614. The Queen wears a ceremonial gown of blue velvet brocaded with gold fleurs-de-lis, ermine fur trim, and jewelled appliqués, over a shirt with a high spaghetti collar of starched Venetian lace, as are the cuffs, which feature embroidered M and H designs, referring to the initials of the King and Queen (Maria and Henri). This is a replica of the original by Frans Pourbus, which depicts the Queen full-length and is housed in the Louvre Museum.