Two Nude Men Carrying Baskets with Olive Branches [reverse]

c. 1443

Pisanello

Associated Names
Pisanello

Artist, Veronese, c. 1395 - 1455

The sculpture is a circular relief depicting two nude human figures with arms touching above them. The sculpture is bronze in color and the figures are set against a background with foliage and architectural elements. There is a border and an inscription that reads "OPVS PISANI PICTORIS." The surface shows intricate craftsmanship and there is a small hole at the top of the disc.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bronze

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (diameter): 6.83 cm (2 11/16 in.)
    gross weight: 147.48 gr (0.325 lb.)
    axis: 12:00

  • Accession Number

    1957.14.599.b

Associated Artworks

The sculpture is a circular medal featuring a profile portrait of a man with distinct facial features and closely cropped curly hair, wearing a high-collared garment. It is made from a bronze-colored material. The portrait is raised from the surface, creating a three-dimensional effect against the flat background. Inscriptions encircle the portrait around the medal's edge, with the words "LEONELLVS MARCHIO ESTENSIS" visible, alongside decorative elements like laurel leaves. A small hole at the top edge suggests the piece may have been intended for display or worn.

Leonello d'Este, 1407-1450, Marquess of Ferrara 1441 [obverse]

Pisanello

1443


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

2018

  • The Renaissance Nude, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2018-2019, no. 95b, repro.

Bibliography

2007

  • Pollard, John Graham. Renaissance Medals. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. 2 vols. Washington, 2007: 1:no. 7, repro.

Inscriptions

around circumference: OPVS PISANI PICTORIS

Wikidata ID

Q63815147

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