Queen Henrietta Maria
by DYCK, Sir Anthony van, Oil on canvas
Henrietta Maria of France (1609-1669) was queen consort of England, Scotland, and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I. She had been so delighted with the sculptor Bernini’s bust of her husband, that she was determined to have a companion bust. Van Dyck painted at least two preparatory portraits (one profile and one frontal) in August 1638.