When people talk about those famous artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, the idea of “they were born to be artists” sometimes appears in the conversation. However, can people really be born to become who they are? It is true that some people are talented in some field, but without practices, nearly no one can become the master. It is also true that people who were born in a family with last name during Renaissance have bigger chance to become influential figures. None of them can be remembered by history without their own efforts. One of the best examples is Catherine de’Medici.
When Catherine was born on April 13th, 1519, no one can predict she will become an orphan within a month. She was first raised by her grandparents, and later joined her aunt’s family. Until the death of Pope Leo and the election of the new pope, Catherine remained living with her aunt. After Pope Clement VII was elected, Catherine moved to Clement’s house. During that period, Florentine people believed she will become the finance of the future Duchy of Urbino. Therefore, they even began to call her “the little duchess “. However, at the age of fourteen, she married the second son of Francis I of France.
Three years after her marriage, Henry, Catherine’s husband, lost his elder brother. Thus, Henry became the King of France and had his coronation in 1947. Actually, Henry showed no interest in Catherine, and he even openly took mistress. At the same time, Catherine failed to produce children. Couldn’t get pregnant might be a problem for normal citizens, but a huge problem for royal family. However, luckily, the discussion of the repudiation of the queen had been denied by Henry. Also, Catherine gave birth to her first son in 1544.
Even though Catherine was well-known as the regent of France, before Henry died, he allowed nearly no political power to her. It was after the continuous deaths of her husband and the eldest son in 1559 and 1560, Catherine began her regent age. In memory of her husband, Catherine decided to wear black. It is also because of this decision, Catherine got the title “the black queen”.
If this is the end of her story, she could not be “the most powerful woman in sixteenth-century Europe” as Mark Strage once mentioned in his book. Being a regent, Catherine tried her best to save Valois dynasty from a series of civil and religious wars. At the same time, she established a series of lavish and spectacular entertainments. According to Leonie Frieda, those fantastic entertainments that Catherine inaugurated are also renowned by later French monarchs. This is not the only contribution Catherine did in art field. As a member from member from Medici family, she inherited the interest in patronage and collection of art. Even though most of her collections have been lost, the funeral series she commissioned has been praised by Henri Zerner as “the last and most brilliant of the royal tombs of the Renaissance”.
Catherine was born in Medici family, but that did not guarantee her interest in patronage. She was raised as unrecognized claim to the Duchy of Urbino, but ended up married to the second son of France King. She was once facing the problem of couldn’t get pregnant, but later become the mother of three kings. Some of the events may not decide or control by her, but without her effort, she cannot accomplish all the achievements that are now recorded under her name.
Renaissance Reconsidered 