Historical and Commemorative
Medals
Collection of Benjamin Weiss
LOUIS XIV AND ANNE OF AUSTRIA WARIN, Jean: France, dated 1638 (19th century
aftercast ?), Bronze, 96 mm
Anne
of Austria (1601-1666) was the daughter of Philip III of Spain. In 1615
she married
Louis XIII
of France and in 1638 gave birth to the future
Louis XIV, king of
France. During the minority of Louis, Anne acted as regent, aided by chief
minister Cardinal Jules
Mazarin. This medal was made in thanksgiving for the birth of
Louis XIV. To show her gratitude to the
Virgin Mary
for the birth of her son (Anne previously was childless after 23 years of
marriage), Anne of Austria ordered the building of the church of Val-de-Grâce.
The young Louis is said to have laid the cornerstone of the church in 1645,
when he was seven years old. The church of the Val-de-Grâce was built on the
land of a Benedictine convent. It was designed by François Mansart and
Jacques Lemercier and is considered by some as Paris' best example of
baroque architecture. Construction began in 1645 and was completed in 1667. LINK to Biography and Portrait of
Anne of Austria
(from Wikipedia)
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