DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.69942#0402
THE CORONATION OF MARY DE MEDICIS.
lents which Rubens possessed: no other artist could, per-
haps, have executed it with equal success. The ministers
of religion have individually a character grave and severe.
Although placed on an elevation at some distance, Henry
IV. is very easily recognized, and his features betray ex-
pressions of benevolence. It may be very readily discover-
ed, that the figures of the princesses, many of whom are
remarkable for their youth and beauty, are not only por-
traits, but that their portraitshave been depictured by Ru-
bens in strict conformity with history. Some of the heads
have even a decided expression. The young person who
removes the cloak from Mary de Medicis, expresses the
interest she takes in the glory of that princess. In the phy-
siognomy and attitude of the Queen Margaret there is an
air of melancholy, which.the painter designedly pour-
trayed.
With respect to the colouring, the subject presented an
obstacle very difficult to surmount, from the repetition of
the same tints. The mantle of the queen, of the princesses,
and the vast carpet which covers entirely the pavement
of the church, are of a blue colour, interspersed with
golden fleurs-de-lys. In the figures of the men, Rubens,
it is thought, has made the carnations too animated ; but
those of the females have uncommon delicacy. The heads'
of the two girls in the suite of the queen, who is standing
beside one that is kneeling, deserve particular attention.
It is in these large compositions that the powers of Ru-
bens appear to expand. In smaller pieces his superiority
is perhaps not so discernible. “ His merit,” says Sir Joshua
Reynolds, “ does not lie in an attitude, or in any peculiar
expression, but in the general .effect, in the genius which
pervades and illuminates the whole.
lents which Rubens possessed: no other artist could, per-
haps, have executed it with equal success. The ministers
of religion have individually a character grave and severe.
Although placed on an elevation at some distance, Henry
IV. is very easily recognized, and his features betray ex-
pressions of benevolence. It may be very readily discover-
ed, that the figures of the princesses, many of whom are
remarkable for their youth and beauty, are not only por-
traits, but that their portraitshave been depictured by Ru-
bens in strict conformity with history. Some of the heads
have even a decided expression. The young person who
removes the cloak from Mary de Medicis, expresses the
interest she takes in the glory of that princess. In the phy-
siognomy and attitude of the Queen Margaret there is an
air of melancholy, which.the painter designedly pour-
trayed.
With respect to the colouring, the subject presented an
obstacle very difficult to surmount, from the repetition of
the same tints. The mantle of the queen, of the princesses,
and the vast carpet which covers entirely the pavement
of the church, are of a blue colour, interspersed with
golden fleurs-de-lys. In the figures of the men, Rubens,
it is thought, has made the carnations too animated ; but
those of the females have uncommon delicacy. The heads'
of the two girls in the suite of the queen, who is standing
beside one that is kneeling, deserve particular attention.
It is in these large compositions that the powers of Ru-
bens appear to expand. In smaller pieces his superiority
is perhaps not so discernible. “ His merit,” says Sir Joshua
Reynolds, “ does not lie in an attitude, or in any peculiar
expression, but in the general .effect, in the genius which
pervades and illuminates the whole.