edited by C. Innocenti - Florence. Palazzo Strozzi. 24 October 2008-8 February 2009 -

The myth of Artemisia. a celebration of modern two queens: Caterina and Maria de 'Medici. Florence. regent of France. is told through the images that helped to legitimize their power. The exhibition (Florence. Palazzo Strozzi. 24 October 2008-8 February 2009) is structured through fifteen monumental tapestries. displayed with great success in 2007 in the gallery of the Gobelins in Paris in 2008 in the Castle of Chambord. The series of tapestries originates Histoire de la Royne Arthemisia. composed in the sixties of the sixteenth century by Nicolas Houel with the intent to celebrate the Queen Catherine de 'Medici. widow to Henry II of France and regent of the kingdom. The complex heroine whose Houel tells the story originated from the merger of the figures of two old queens of Caria. both named Artemisia. The first fought on the side of Xerxes in the fifth century BC and the other. lived in the next century. the widow of King Mausoleum. erected in memory of the famous Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. known as one of the seven wonders of the world. The tapestries were woven. with some changes from the original project. starting in 1607. at the behest of Henry IV in honor of his wife Mary. At the core of the exhibition is accompanied by a survey of the tastes and personalities of the two queens. through paintings and objects related to their history. In addition to precious jewelry. we signal the talisman that belonged to Catherine (Bibliothèque nationale de France. Paris). an autograph letter from Mary with a drawing. a painting portraying Mary and Henry IV in an outdoor banquet (Musée des Beaux - Arts. Nantes). The exhibition closes the section entitled "Returning to the myth of Artemisia." with eight paintings by Italian artists of the seventeenth century. including Francis Curradi. Cesare Dandini and Domenico Fetti.