Marie De' Medici Cycle - Henry IV Cycle

Henry IV Cycle

The original commission for the Marie de' Medici cycle included a corresponding gallery illustrating the life of Henry IV that was never completed, although Rubens began work soon after he completed the Marie de' Medici cycle. The Henry cycle called for twenty-four monumental scenes of Henry's life depicting "the encounters he was engaged in, his combats, conquests, and sieges of towns with the Triumphs of said victories." Marie and Henry's separate wings were designed to meet in an arcade that would unite the two galleries. The paintings of each gallery would have been exhibited as an integrated pair, unifying all forty-eight scenes.

It appears that Rubens did not make any sketches for the Henry IV cycle while he was engaged with the first gallery. In one of his letters the artist describes the theme as "so large and magnificent that it would suffice for ten galleries". Judging by another statement of his on January 27, 1628, he did not engage much in sketching before that date. Of the oil sketches executed later by him, only nine survive, along with five large unfinished canvasses. Most of the sketches represent actual battles in which Henry was involved, such as The Capture of Paris.

It is important to note that the reasons for not completing the Henry IV cycle had to do with the current political events of the time. Marie de' Medici was banished from Paris in 1631 as Cardinal Richelieu gained power over Louis XIII. Consequently, the project was abandoned completely due to approval of the plans for the gallery being repeatedly delayed by the French court. Richelieu, who now had full control of the cycle, refused to speak to Rubens about completing the Henry Gallery based on the falsehood that he was tending to affairs of the state. Richelieu's true motivations were most likely political. During this time, Rubens was in Madrid preparing for a diplomatic mission to London, working towards the rapprochement of Spain and England. The commissioned artist being active in an opposing political parties was cause for Richelieu to object. He was thus actively seeking for an Italian artist to replace Rubens, which resulted in Rubens only sporadically continuing his work. After Marie's banishment in 1631, the project was to be completely abandoned, which seems a travesty seeing as Rubens was very optimistic about the project and its effects on his career; "I have now begun the designs of the other gallery which, in my judgment, because of the nature of the subject will prove to be more splendid than the first so that I hope I shall rather gain than decline."

An important sketch from the collection is the so-called Reconciliation of King Henry III and Henry of Navarre - a significant event for Henry IV's ascent to the throne. After the death of the duke of Anjou, brother of the childless King Henry III, the apparent heir was to be Henry of Navarre (the future King Henry IV). However, when a papal bull denied him the throne and excommunicated him, Henry of Navarre protested, starting the War of the Three Henrys. When Henry III was also ostracized from Paris for initiating the murder of the duke of Guise, he met with Henry of Navarre to make peace and recognize him as rightful heir. Although Rubens depicted this reconciliation as taking place in a throne room, contemporary reports recorded that it was actually in a garden full of spectators. The sketch shows Henry of Navarre bowing down in Henry III's presence, which eyewitness accounts confirm was accurate. Rubens represented a putto taking the crown of Henry III, with the intention of placing it on the willing future Henry IV, although the actual transfer of power didn't occur until Henry III's assassination several months later (August 1, 1589). A page stands behind Henry of Navarre holding his personal badge: a white plumed helmet, while the dog at his feet represents fidelity. The two ominous figures behind Henry III most likely represent personifications of Fraud and Discord.

The Henry IV cycle was planned to be composed of scenes from the king's military career. The violence of these images would contrast nicely with the relative peace and regal quality of the scenes in the Marie de' Medici cycle. The Battle of Ivry on the East Wall of the gallery is a scene of Henry's most decisive battle to unify the city of Paris. Primarily gray, the sketch shows the king in crimson velvet to stand out in "the most famous of all the battles of Henry IV." He is shown in the center of the scene raising a flaming sword. His victorious army rushes in chaotically behind him; horses rearing and riders falling. This painting corresponds to the Coronation painting in the Marie de' Medici cycle.

The Triumphal Entry into Paris is the culminating point of the North End of the gallery. Being the king's last major battle fought, this served as an optimal location. Rubens wanted it to be at the end of the gallery as a "large and important" piece with an advanced state of execution. The painting shows Henry parading into Paris as a victorious Roman emperor holding an olive branch, the symbol of peace. However, because Henry never actually entered Paris in this fashion, the scene is supposed to represent only a symbolic triumph. Henry's action and setting (the buildings and a triumphal arch) were not really possible in Paris at this time, reassuring that the scene is not based on historical fact, but a classical metaphor and Henry's goal of remaining King of France. This painting coincides with Apotheosis and Ascendancy in the Marie cycle.

The Clemency of Henry in Paris corresponds to the Olympian peace scene in the Marie cycle, with Henry's peace as earthly and Marie's as celestial. Henry's painting, beginning the West Wall of the gallery, depicts the scenes following the capture of Paris. Henry's army casts the rebels out of Paris by throwing them over a bridge into the river below. In the left corner, however, the new ruler himself discusses clemency with a few advisers.