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Source Description
Having himself depicted as the lightly clothed, muscular figure of Jupiter, king of the Olympian gods, is surely meant to suggest that Henry felt supremely confident of his invincibility. It is a clever political ploy of one who felt enemies on every side. His concerns were justified, as he was assassinated in 1609. The fierce eagle was Jupiter's pet and a suitable attribute of kingly ambition.There are two other portraits of the king as well as the companion statuette of his wife Marie de' Medici nearby. These statuettes do not show the same precision and finesse as the bust and may be products of Jacquet's workshop, made to be given as gifts to supporters.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
8272
label
Portrait of Henri IV, King of France, as Jupiter
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
8272
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Portrait of Henri IV, King of France, as Jupiter
description
Having himself depicted as the lightly clothed, muscular figure of Jupiter, king of the Olympian gods, is surely meant to suggest that Henry felt supremely confident of his invincibility. It is a clever political ploy of one who felt enemies on every side. His concerns were justified, as he was assassinated in 1609. The fierce eagle was Jupiter's pet and a suitable attribute of kingly ambition.There are two other portraits of the king as well as the companion statuette of his wife Marie de' Medici nearby. These statuettes do not show the same precision and finesse as the bust and may be products of Jacquet's workshop, made to be given as gifts to supporters.
provenance
Jacques Seligmann, Paris, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1910, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
1605-1609 (Baroque)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Metal
statuettes (statues)
portraits
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
18 5/16 in. (46.5 cm)
Source extras
med
bronze
creator_ids
3488
collection_ids
BAR
exhibition_ids
74
1994
316
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
4bbeda72d015bbae