Engagement of Władysław IV with Marie Louise Gonzaga

The years of Louis XIV are regarded as a period of splendour of the Kingdom of France, which manifested itself both politically and culturally. In the latter field, the court of the Sun King, as Louis XIV was called, needed a whole host of artists to document the ruler’s achievements. It was no different in the field of medal-making. A large group of engravers worked for the court, which until the 1770s was headed by Jean Varin, an outstanding sculptor, medal maker and inventor. Already after Varin's death, Jean Mauger was included in this group. The artist was born in 1648 and initially trained and created in his hometown of Dieppe. However, his talent soon brought him to royal Paris. He was an extremely prolific artist, considered by his contemporaries as one of the three most outstanding medal makers of the time of Louis XIV. In his work he mainly dealt with themes related to the depiction of the most important events during the reign of the Sun King. Such is the character of the medal presented here. It was minted to commemorate the engagement of Władysław IV to Maria Louise Gonzaga, Princess of Mantua, known in Poland as Ludwika Maria. The medal did not refer directly to Louis XIV, but since the Duchess of Mantua was his subject, on the obverse Jean Mauger placed the childish face of Louis XIV, described as the Arch-Christian ruler. It is worth mentioning that the marriage of Władysław IV and Louise Marie, arranged by Cardinal Mazarin, took place when the formally reigning Louis XIV was only 7 years old and it was the Cardinal who de facto directed French politics. The reverse is more related to the real reason for the coinage, although the issue of the relationship between Władysław IV and Louise Marie is presented allegorically, referring to Greek mythology. It depicts Hymenaeus, the Greek god of marriage, preceding the Polish MP on horseback, who was the Poznań Voivode, Krzysztof Opaliński. Interestingly, the medal was created much later than the event it commemorates. The engagement took place in 1645, while the medal was minted at the earliest at the beginning of the 18th century, but before 1722, the year in which Jean Mauger died.

Leszek Poniewozik