Cliché Musées d'Angers Photo Pierre David

Examine how these saltcellars depicting Marie de' Medici and Henri IV (detail of Marie salt cellar above) of France might be considered "gendered" objects.

Today's political leaders, male and female, rely on expensive media consultants to project qualities such as nobility, courage, honesty and even beauty. Divinity is a claim beyond their grasp, but in the 1500s and 1600s, the idea that kings and queens were quasi-divine figures still held currency. Allusions to the gods and goddesses of antiquity are a common feature of works of art from the period. The histories and attributes of Greek and Roman deities provided a symbolic visual shorthand that savvy rulers and court artists used to convey a range of majestic traits. Because the histories and attributes of Greek and Roman deities were familiar to many people during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, artists could rely on courtiers and nobles to grasp these elegant and sometimes subtle visual associations.

	Thinking Point
	Aside from connecting himself or herself with qualities associated with the divine, why else might a royal wish to present himself or herself as tied to gods and goddesses? How might a monarch benefit by this association?

The reign of Henri IV and Marie de' Medici in early-seventeenth-century France was particularly rich in the use of mythological symbols and complex, carefully constructed allegories with a cast of mythological figures. On medals, Henri and Marie were frequently depicted in the guises of Mars, godw of war, and Minerva, goddess of wisdom and the arts. On the occasion of their wedding and later, after she was widowed, Marie was depicted as Juno, the supreme Roman goddess and the protector of marriage and childbirth. Henri was portrayed as Jupiter, the chief Roman deity. In this way, artists conveyed not only the superiority of these royal figures and their right to rule, they also fostered an anticipation of the benefits of their leadership.

	Test Your Knowledge
	Now that you have completed this free seminar, see what you have learned by answering a few short questions on "Women Who Ruled: Queens, Goddesses, Amazons 1500-1650.

That the likenesses of kings and queens appeared on tableware, medallions and cameos, in addition to the more stately media of painting and sculpture, is a reminder to contemporary viewers that these rulers missed no opportunity to disseminate positive images of themselves. These works of art reveal that the intense concern with beauty, image and visual self-representation we see demonstrated today by politicians and other public figures has historical precedent. Similarly, the proliferation of works showing powerful women as heroines, warriors and goddesses was a creative response on the part of artists to important contemporary trends. Like artists today who give expression to the pressing issues of their time, those featured in this seminar were both shaping and reflecting society's interest in the rise of female heads of state and the debate over the appropriateness of female rule. In addition, they were finding new ways of engaging with and depicting an ancient and popular subject--the perennially fascinating, aesthetically rewarding female form.