Paul III (Alessandro Farnese, 1468-1549), Pope 1534 [obverse]

1545

Alessandro Cesati, called Il Grechetto

Associated Names
Alessandro Cesati, called Il Grechetto

Artist, Roman, active 1538/1564

The image depicts a relief on a coin featuring the profile of a bearded man wearing a robe with intricate scenes and embellishments. The inscription surrounding the man's profile reads “PAVLVS III PONT MAX ANXII.” The coin has a golden-brown hue, likely made from bronze or a similar metal. The high relief positions the figure prominently in the center, emphasizing the elaborate garment and facial features. The detailed artwork includes strands of hair and illustrated panels on the garment.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bronze//Struck

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (diameter): 4.03 cm (1 9/16 in.)
    gross weight: 38.38 gr (0.085 lb.)
    axis: 6:00

  • Accession Number

    1957.14.959.a

Associated Artworks

The relief is on a circular bronze medallion or coin. It depicts a nude male figure standing with one foot slightly raised on a piece of terrain, holding a jug with his right hand and pouring liquid. Beside him is a large bird, likely an eagle, with its head turned towards the figure. Around the figures are some plants, and there is an inscription along the upper and lower edges of the medallion. The material is bronze, giving it a metallic brown color. The sculpture is finely detailed, emphasizing the musculature of the male figure, the feathers of the eagle, and the textural details of the plants and landscape around them.

Aquarius Watering the Farnese Lilies [reverse]

Alessandro Cesati, called Il Grechetto

1545

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

1970

  • The Age of Vasari, Art Gallery, University of Notre Dame, Indiana; University Art Gallery, State University of New York at Binghamton, 1970, no. M8.

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. 366.

2007

  • Pollard, John Graham. Renaissance Medals. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. 2 vols. Washington, 2007: 1:no. 417, repro.

Inscriptions

around circumference: PAVLVS III PONT[ifex] MAX[imus] AN[no] XI

Wikidata ID

Q63850143

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