"The Marriage"

Peter Paul Rubens - Oil
One of the Marie de' Medici cycle's painting
The Wedding by Proxy of Marie de' Medici to King Henry IV (1622–25), Rubens depicts the proxy marriage ceremony of the Florentine princess Marie de' Medici to the King of France, Henry IV which took place in the cathedral of Florence on October 5, 1600. Cardinal Peitro Aldobrandini presides over the ritual, however since Henry IV was too busy to attend his own wedding, the bride's uncle, the Grand Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany stood in his place and is pictured here slipping a ring on his niece's finger. All the surrounding figures are identifiable, including the artist himself. Although he was present at the actual event twenty years earlier, as a member of the Gonzaga household during his travels in Italy, Rubens appears youthful and stands behind the bride, holding a cross and gazing out at the viewer. It is highly unlikely that Rubens actually had such a pronounced presence in this scene when it took place. Those who attended the ceremony for Marie include Christine de Lorraine, Grand Duchess of Tuscany and Marie's sister Eleonora, Duchess of Mantua
and in entourage of Grand Duke are Roger de Bellegarde, Grand Esquire of France, and the Marquis de Sillery, who negotiated the marriage. As in other scenes in the Medici Cycle, Rubens includes a mythological element: the ancient god of marriage, Hymenaios wearing a crown of roses, carries the bride's train in one hand and the nuptial torch in the other. The scene takes place below a marble statue, which depicts God the Father mourning over the dead body of Christ, alluding to the Pieta sculpture by Baccio Bandinelli (1493–1560).