A panoramic view of the fleets in the River IJ during the visit of Marie de' Medici to Amsterdam from August 31st to September 5th, 1638. The Queen and her guests are in a yacht in the center foreground. Marie de' Medici went into self-exile after a failed coup to displace Cardinal Richelieu from her son's, King Louis XIII of France, council. Her visit to Amsterdam was considered a diplomatic triumph for the Dutch as it officially recognized the newly formed Dutch Republic. Her arrival was celebrated with an elaborate ceremonial procession and water pageants in the city's harbor. The print depicts a moment of this triumphal display.
At the top left is the coat of arms of Amsterdam. At the top right is the city seal. The plate is numbered 15 on the bottom right corner; it is part of the illustrations of descriptions of the festivities. Of the three states known, this numbered print is of the third state. The image has appeared in:
Baerle, Caspar van. Medicea hospes, sive descriptio publicae gratulationis, qua Serenissimam, Augustissimamque Reginam, Mariam de Medicis (...). Amsterdam: Johannes en Cornelis Willemsz. Blaeu, 1638.
Baerle, Caspar van. Marie de Medicis, entrant dans Amsterdam : ou, histoire de la reception faicte �� la Reyne Mere du Roy tres-Chrestien (...). Amsterdam: Johannes en Cornelis Willemsz. Blaeu, 1638.
Baerle, Caspar van en Joost van den Vondel. Blyde inkomst der allerdoorluchtighste koninginne, Maria de Medicis t' Amsterdam. Vertaelt uit het Latijn (...). Amsterdam: Johannes en Cornelis Willemsz. Blaeu, 1639.
The collector, Arthur H. Clark, also used this print from his collection to illustrate his book 'The History of Yachting, 1600-1815' (New York & London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1904), 20.
A copy of the same print is located at the Rijksmuseum: RP-P-OB-81.453
