Henrietta Maria arrived in England after her wedding to King Charles I, who was one of the greatest royal art connoisseurs in history. Descending from the family of preeminent Renaissance patrons, the Medici of Florence, the new queen became a devoted patron to the arts, literature, and architecture in 17th-century England.
“Queen Henrietta Maria,” 1636, by Anthony van Dyck. Oil on canvas; 41 5/8 inches by 33 1/4 inches. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. (Public Domain)
Lineage of Artistic Patronage
In the Anglophone world, Henrietta Maria is remembered simply as a French princess who became an English queen consort. Born a member of the royal House of Bourbon, she was the daughter, sister, and aunt of French kings. Her trip to England was her first outside France’s boundaries….