Cosimo de' Medici, 1389-1464, Pater Patriae [obverse]

probably 1465/1469

A round bronze medallion shows a man’s head and the tops of his shoulders facing our left in profile. The man has a long nose, a heavy-lidded eye, wrinkled brow, sagging jowls, and a downturned mouth. He wears a flaring, flat-topped cap and a garment with a high collar. Latin text in all caps runs lines the perimeter of the medallion, reading "MAGNVS COSMVS MEDICES P P P." The medallion is photographed against a black background.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bronze//Later cast

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (diameter): 7.44 cm (2 15/16 in.)
    gross weight: 124.75 gr (0.275 lb.)
    axis: 12:00

  • Accession

    1957.14.839.a

Associated Artworks

Florence Holding an Orb and Triple Olive Branch [reverse]

Florentine 15th Century

1465

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Gustave Dreyfus [1837-1914], Paris; his heirs; purchased with the entire Dreyfus collection 9 July 1930 by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris); sold 31 January 1944 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[1] gift 1957 to NGA.
[1] The Duveen Brothers Records document the firm’s sixteen year pursuit and eventual acquisition of the Dreyfus collection, which included paintings, sculptures, small bronzes, medals, and plaquettes. Bequeathed as part of his estate to Dreyfus’ widow and five children (a son and four daughters), who had differing opinions about its disposition, the collection was not sold until after his widow’s death in April 1929. Duveen did not wish to separate Dreyfus’ collection of small bronzes, medals, and plaquettes, and it was sold intact to the Kress Foundation for a price that was met by installment payments every three months. (Duveen Brothers Records, accession number 960015, Research Library, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles: reel 301, box 446, folders 3 and 4; reel 302, box 447, folders 1-6; reel 303, box 448, folders 1 and 2; reel 330, box 475, folder 4.) See also George Francis Hill’s discussion "A Note on Pedigrees" in his catalogue, The Gustave Dreyfus Collection: Renaissance Medals, Oxford, 1931: xii, which was commissioned by Duveen Brothers.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1953

  • Renaissance Portraits, Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Massachusetts, 1953, no cat.

1984

  • Joseph Ternbach: Conservator/Collector, The Queens Museum, Flushing, New York, 1984-1985, no. 59.

Bibliography

1967

  • Hill, George Francis, and Graham Pollard. Renaissance Medals from the Samuel H. Kress Collection at the National Gallery of Art. London, 1967: no. 245.

2007

  • Pollard, John Graham. Renaissance Medals. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. 2 vols. Washington, 2007: 1:no. 279, repro.

Inscriptions

around circumference: MAGNVS COSMVS MEDICES P P P

Wikidata ID

Q63847560

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