Francesco Taverna, 1488-1560, Count of Landriano, Milanese Jurisconsult [obverse]

c. 1554

Pier Paolo Galeotti

Associated Names
Pier Paolo Galeotti

Artist, Florentine, c. 1520 - 1584

The image depicts a round sculpted portrait on a bronze medallion. The subject is a male figure in profile view facing right. He has a prominent beard, bald head, and is wearing a garment with visible folds. Surrounding the profile, there is an inscription in a circular fashion along the edge of the medallion.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bronze

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (diameter): 5.68 cm (2 1/4 in.)
    gross weight: 59.32 gr (0.131 lb.)
    axis: 12:00

  • Accession Number

    1957.14.953.a

Associated Artworks

The image features a circular medallion or coin with a detailed relief sculpture on its surface. The subject of the sculpture is a dog in a sitting position with its head slightly raised. The dog is in a natural setting with trees and possibly ruins with columns. The sculpture is brownish in color, resembling copper or bronze, and the dog is highlighted against the background. There is a border with a dot pattern around the medallion, and an inscription is visible along the upper portion. The craftsmanship shows depth and dimension, making the dog and landscape appear lifelike.

Hound Looking at the Constellation of Capricorn [reverse]

Pier Paolo Galeotti

1554

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

1994

  • The Currency of Fame: Portrait Medals of the Renaissance, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; The Frick Collection, New York; National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1994-1995, no. 57a.

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. 360.

1983

  • Wilson, Carolyn C. Renaissance Small Bronze Sculpture and Associated Decorative Arts at the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1983: 179, no. 18.

2007

  • Pollard, John Graham. Renaissance Medals. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. 2 vols. Washington, 2007: 1:no. 411, repro.

Inscriptions

around circumference: FRA[nciscus] TABERNA CO[mes] LANDR[iani] MAGN[us] CANC[ellarius] STA[tus] MEDIO[lanensis] AN[no] LXVI; center right: PPR

Wikidata ID

Q63851915

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