École française du début du XVIIe siècle. Lot n° 3

Portrait of Louis XIII, king of France and Navarre (1601-1643), after Pierre Paul RUBENS (1577-1640). Portrait of Anne of Austria, infanta of Spain, queen of France and Navarre (1601-1666), after Frans POURBUS the young (1569-1622). Pair of oil on copper, circa 1615. Titled at the top: "ANNE D AVSTRICHE ROYNE DE FR(ANCE)." and "L(OUIS). XIII". Wear and slight lifting of material. In rectangular giltwood frames, with cartouches inscribed "P. PORBUS" (sic). H. 22 x W. 16 cm. Frames : H. 29 x W. 24 cm. History These small-scale portraits on copper of the two teenagers were made around 1615, the year of their marriage celebrated in Bordeaux on November 21 of that year. Each is depicted in bust form facing each other and wearing a strawberry, Louis XIII is shown in armor while Anne of Austria is dressed in a ceremonial gown adorned with pearls and jewels, her headdress is adorned with an aigrette. Louis XIII was born in 1601 at the Château de Fontainebleau. He was the eldest son of King Henry IV and his second wife, Marie de Medici. From an early age, Louis showed a great interest in music and learned to play the lute at only three years old. When his father died and he became king, his mother Marie de Medici was appointed regent, to serve until he came of age. Although he came of age in 1614, his mother continued to exert her influence as regent, judging her son "too weak in body and mind" to assume his rightful position. It would be several years before Louis asserted his authority. In April 1617 he staged a coup, overthrowing his mother's prime minister Concino Concini and sending his mother into exile. He replaced Concini with his favorite advisor, Charles d'Albert, duke of Luynes. In 1612, at only eleven years of age, Louis became engaged to Anne of Austria, following the tradition of mixed marriages between the French and Spanish monarchies. She was the daughter of King Felipe III of Spain and Margaret of Austria. The couple married by proxy on October 18, 1615 in Burgos, Spain. On the same day, Louis' sister Elisabeth married Anna's brother, the future King Felipe IV of Spain. After Anne's arrival in France in 1615, after four stillborn children and 23 years of marriage, the couple had two sons: the future king Louis XIV (1638-1715) and Philip, Duke of Orleans (1640-1701). After several weeks of intense illness, King Louis XIII died in Paris on May 14, 1643. He was buried in the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris, France, with very little pomp or ceremony, as he wished the French people not to be subjected to excessive or unnecessary expense as a result of his death. Related works - Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Portrait of Louis XIII, oil on canvas, Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, F.1965.1.060.P. - Hendrik Hondius I, Portrait of Louis XIII in Medallion, 1627, engraving. - School of Frans Pourbus, Portrait of Louis XIII, oil on canvas, Fundacion Yannick y Ben Jakober, Majorca. - Daniel Dumonstier, Portrait of Louis XIII, drawing, Musée Condé, Chantilly, inv. PD383. - Bartholomé Gonzalès, Anne of Austria, Infanta of Spain, with her brother Philip IV, future King of Spain, ca. 1610. - Lasne, Portrait of Anne of Austria in 1614, a few months before her marriage, engraving. - Frans Pourbus, Portrait of Anne of Austria, 1616, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, inv. 2804.