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the Society. By dedicating royal funds to the construction of Saint-Louis-des-Jésuites and by
commissioning medals that depicted images of model rulers with absolute power, Louis affirmed
his sovereign rights. In the wake of the king’s actions, the Jesuits turned their church into an
artistic program venerating French kingship, a statement which became most visible in a series
of four paintings by various artists depicting scenes from the life of St. Louis. A further
acknowledgement of Louis XIII’s authority came from contributions to the same church by
Cardinal Richelieu, who like the Jesuits turned his patronage of the façade and high altar into an
expression of the power of the French monarchy.
The next chapter considers Maria de’ Medici. Although the queen’s support of churches
began prior to that of her son, I have placed this section here to best illuminate her two distinct
approaches to patronage, which correspond to the stage of her regency (1610-1617) and the time
in which she served as a counselor to the king (1622-1630). Studying the churches from the
different periods reveals two different types of buildings. The five churches supported by the
queen during the regency lack any visual reference to the royal aid they received, while the two
begun after her return from exile and admittance into the royal council include prominent
imagery explicitly linking them to their patron.
Although Maria de’ Medici supported more Parisian churches than her son, the primary
focus of this study is Louis XIII. Three chapters are devoted to him in contrast to one for the
queen. This decision stems in part from the fact that in comparison with Maria de’ Medici’s
patronage, far less attention has been devoted to the king. Equally important is the fact that the
queen’s actions are best understood when viewed as a response to the king’s support of churches.
To account for the striking differences between those churches begun from 1610 to 1617
and those from the 1620s, I examine the queen mother’s distinct objectives during her reign as
regent and her role as counselor to the king. During the regency Maria de’ Medici had two
primary concerns: the promotion of the Catholic faith and the legitimization of her right to rule
for her minor son, a position threatened by her foreign status and her gender. My research shows
that by contributing to the construction of churches for religious orders, the queen helped to
legitimize her rule by participating in an established tradition of French monarchs while at the
same time promoting the ideals of the Catholic Reformation. The absence of visual signs tying
the churches to Maria de’ Medici limited fears of control by a foreign queen while suggesting
that the push for reform came solely from the religious groups. In contrast, upon admittance to
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