The Triumph of Juliers

The Triumph of Juliers is also sometimes known as The Regent Militant: The Victory at Julich and is the thirteenth item in the Marie de' Medici cycle, a large commission for Peter Paul Rubens.

The Battle of Juliers was fought in 1610 between the Protestant and Catholic forces, with the former claiming victory on September the 1st. Marie is captured in this scene arriving on a beautiful horse though was not really involved in the battle itself, just appearing at the end to revel in the atmosphere of victory. Oil paintings were used to amend history itself, as this scene seems to suggest she played a greater role in that battle than she actually did.

Peter Paul Rubens carefully constructs this composition to portray his subject as almost a connection to the Gods, with angels flying around her as she bathes in bright light, exagerated by the white horse on which she sits. Her pose is elegant but also strong, lifted up above the viewer from her position on the saddle of this beautiful animal. Others look on in awe of her own beauty whilst a landscape can be seen in the background which would link directly to the region of Juliers itself.

Many of the paintings in this series are covered individually within this website, such as The Meeting of Marie de Medicis and Henri IV at Lyon and The Landing at Marseilles 3rd November 1600. The full series can be found at the Louvre and has a room dedicated solely to this period of work from Rubens. It is amongst their most significant highlight from an extraordinary collection of Renaissance and Baroque art.