Description
Though Frans Pourbus the Younger descended from a dynasty of portrait painters in the Spanish Netherlands, he, like Antonis Mor, served courts across Europe, including those in Brussels, Mantua, and Paris. This likeness of Marie de’ Medici, queen mother of Louis XIII of France, was executed six years after she appointed Pourbus her personal portraitist. His meticulous depiction of her elaborate garments effectively conveys a variety of textures, details, and patterns within a restricted color palette.
Provenance
Possibly Venetian private collection [according to Baschet 1868, paintings of Marie de Médicis, Louis XIII, and Anne of Austria [sic] hanging together in the hôtel of Princesse Mathilde were acquired in Venice from a patrician family whose ancestors included ambassadors to France; the other two are now in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Karlsruhe; Ducos P.A. 82 and 83]; Princesse Mathilde Bonaparte, Paris, by 1868, died 1904; sold Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, 17-21 May, 1904, no. 14. M. de Saint Alary, Paris [according to report on the Buckingham Collection, Art Institute Archives]. O’Brien & Son, Chicago [Buckingham report cited above]. Kate Buckingham, Chicago, by 1920, when lent to the Art Institute; accepted as a gift, 1932 [receipt 3053 and other documentation in curatorial file].
Accession Number
78591
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
99.7 × 77.5 cm (39 1/4 × 30 1/2 in.); Framed: 140.3 × 119.4 × 10.2 cm (55 1/4 × 47 × 4 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Credit Line
Gift of Kate S. Buckingham
