Isabeau de Bauieres 1620 - 1664

This etching of Isabeau de Bauieres was made by Stefano della Bella in the 17th century. Isabeau was Queen of France in the late 1300s and early 1400s, a period of political instability. Della Bella was a printmaker who worked for royal and aristocratic patrons, and the image of Isabeau here is one of a series of female figures that he called ‘capricieuse’ - fanciful. The text below the image refers to the historical claim that Isabeau sought to exclude her son from the French crown. However, the image and the inscription do not necessarily represent an accurate or straightforward account of the past. The question of how history is represented in institutions such as the monarchy, or indeed the museum, is complex and requires archival research. The political implications of historical narratives are also inflected by social and institutional contexts.