Elisabetta Gonzaga, died 1528, Duchess of Urbino, Wife of Guidobaldo I 1489 [obverse]

c. 1495/1499

Adriano Fiorentino

Associated Names
Adriano Fiorentino

Artist, Florentine, c. 1450/1460 - 1499

The sculpture is a circular medal featuring the profile of a woman facing right. She is depicted in fine detail, wearing intricate clothing and headwear. The medal is made of a dark-toned metal, possibly bronze, giving it a brownish-reddish appearance with an aged texture. Around the edge, there is an inscription in raised classical-style lettering, some of which is worn and difficult to decipher. The sculpture is small and designed as a medallion, offering a detailed representation of the woman's facial features and attire.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bronze

  • Credit Line

    Widener Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (diameter): 8.65 cm (3 3/8 in.)
    gross weight: 198.53 gr (0.438 lb.)
    axis: 6:00

  • Accession Number

    1942.9.152.a

Associated Artworks

The sculpture is a circular medallion featuring a relief of a male figure reclining with his back against a structure resembling a cage or wooden frame. The figure is nude except for a cloth draped across his waist, and he is oriented in a relaxed pose with one arm above his head and one leg bent. The material of the medallion appears to be bronze or a similarly colored metal with a patina, giving it a green and brownish hue. Around the perimeter of the medallion is an inscription in Latin: "HOC FVGIENTI FORTVNAE DICATIS." The raised relief elements provide a stylized depiction of the figure, with details like musculature and facial features softly hinted at through the metalwork. The sculpture is similar in size to a large coin, and its circular shape and engraved lettering give it a medallion-like appearance.

Female Figure Holding a Bridle [reverse]

Adriano Fiorentino

1495


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Oscar Hainauer [d. 1894], Berlin; by inheritance to his widow, Mrs. Julie Hainauer, Berlin; purchased 1906 by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris); by exchange 21 October 1920 to Joseph E. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Philadelphia;[1] gift 1942 to NGA.
[1] A typed manuscript, “List of medals from the Hainauer Collection sold to Joseph Widener, Esq.” dated “October Twenty-First 1920,” is kept inside the front cover of the NGA Library’s copy of A Cabinet of One Hundred & Thirty-Three Bronze Plaques and Medals of the Renaissance Period from the Collection of the Late Herr Oscar Hainauer of Berlin, ed. Duveen Brothers, London, n.d. (but 1908), which came to the Gallery from the Widener library. Elsewhere in the Widener records, the circumstances of the acquisition are recorded by Edith Standen, the Widener’s curator: “Plaques and medals. These, formerly in the Hainauer Collection, were presented to Mr. [Joseph] Widener by Lord Duveen (then Sir Joseph) as a peace-offering. Mr. Widener had broken off relations with the firm two years before over a disputed enamel he had purchased from them and the medals, though originally offered at a much higher price, were given in lieu of the purchase money of the enamel.” (Gallery Archives, Record Group 3, Records of the Office of the Deputy or Assistant Director, Donor Files Relating to Major Collections, Box 21.)

Associated Names

Bibliography

1897

  • Bode, Wilhelm von, ed. Die Sammlung Oscar Hainauer / The Collection of Oscar Hainauer. [bound as one volume, English and German pages interleaved in one page sequence] Berlin, 1897 and London, 1906: no. 264.

1908

  • A Cabinet of One Hundred & Thirty-Three Bronze Plaques and Medals of the Renaissance Period from the Collection of the Late Herr Oscar Hainauer of Berlin. Ed. Duveen Brothers. London, n.d. (but 1908): no. 30, repro.

1930

  • Hill, George Francis. A Corpus of Italian Medals of the Renaissance before Cellini. 2 vols. London, 1930: no. 344.

1942

  • Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 15.

2007

  • Pollard, John Graham. Renaissance Medals. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. 2 vols. Washington, 2007: 1:no. 150, repro.

Inscriptions

around circumference: ELISABET[ta] GONZAGA FELTRIA DVCIS[sa] VRBINI

Wikidata ID

Q63809170

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