Francesco IV Gonzaga, 1586-1612, 5th Duke of Mantua 1612

1612

Balthasar Keller

Sculptor, Swiss, 1638 - 1702

A portly man wearing a wide ruffled collar and armor faces our right in profile in this circular bronze medal. He is cleanshaven and has curly hair. He looks to our right from slightly bulging eyes, and he has a high forehead, a bumped nose, full, rounded cheeks, and a double chin. He wears armor densely decorated with vegetative scrolls, and a cape. His collar is pleated into serpentine, figure-eight folds. An inscription in capital letters runs around the perimeter: “FRAN IIII D G DVX MANT V MONT FER III AN I AET XXVI.” And in smaller letters under the man’s shoulder: “G DVPRE F 1612,” but the “2” is upside down. The medal is shown against a black background in this photograph.

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On View

NGA, West Building, G-013-A

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bronze//Cast hollow

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (diameter): 16.2 cm (6 3/8 in.)
    gross weight: 318.48 gr (0.702 lb.)

  • Accession

    1957.14.1156

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

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. 561.

1983

  • Wilson, Carolyn C. Renaissance Small Bronze Sculpture and Associated Decorative Arts at the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1983: 208, no. 13.

2007

  • Pollard, John Graham. Renaissance Medals. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. 2 vols. Washington, 2007: 2:no. 642, repro.

Inscriptions

around circumference, with diamond shaped inscription stops: FRAN[ciscus].IIII. D[ei].G[ratia].DVX.MANT V[ae].MONT[is].FER[rati].III.AN[no].I.AET[atis].XXVI (Francesco the fourth by the grace of God fifth duke of Mantua, third duke of Montferrato, in year one of the reign, aged twenty-six); below the truncation, left: G.DVPRE.F[ecit].1612 (G. Dupré made it. 1612); on reverse, the caster's name: J.B.Keller.1654

Wikidata ID

Q63851424

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