The Majority of Louis XIII, 20 October 1614

When Louis XIII turned 13 in the autumn of 1614, French law made him king in his own right and his mother's regency formally ended. Rubens paints the handover as a change of pilot. France stands tall as a mast with a globe and a flaming sword, while Marie de' Medici bows to her son, who now has the helm of the ship of state. The women straining at the oars are the virtues a king needs, Force, Religion, Justice and Concord. The picture leaves out the sequel. At a formal session of the Paris high court that October, Louis named his mother head of his council, and she went on governing until he pushed her aside in 1617. Above the sail shine two stars, Castor and Pollux, guardians of sailors. The Medici gallery at the Louvre is currently closed for restoration.