Alessandro de' Medici, 1512-1537, 1st Duke of Florence 1523 [obverse]

1500-1571

Benvenuto Cellini

Associated Names
Benvenuto Cellini

Sculptor, Florentine, 1500 - 1571

The sculpture features a relief portrait of a young man with curly hair, depicted in profile facing left. The portrait includes intricate details in the hair, facial features, and clothing. The sculpture is a round medallion or coin made of metal, with a bronze or copper tone. An inscription on the outer edge reads "ALEXANDER M. R. D. FLORENT." The sculpture shows signs of wear with surface dents and marks.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    silver testoon//Struck

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (diameter): 2.88 cm (1 1/8 in.)
    gross weight: 8.24 gr (0.018 lb.)
    axis: 3:00

  • Accession Number

    1957.14.1259.a

Associated Artworks

The sculpture depicts a pair of robed figures with beards and halos on a circular object, potentially a coin or medallion. The figures walk side by side, one holding a book or tablet and both linking arms. The sculpture is made of bronze or a similar metallic material, showing a brownish color with lighter highlights from polishing. The figures are depicted in a detailed relief style, suggesting a historical or religious theme. The text on the sculpture reads "COSMVS" and "DAMIANVS" against a smooth background, enclosed by a raised border on the circular shape. The depiction is small, intricate, and meant for close inspection.

Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian

Benvenuto Cellini

1500

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

2004

  • Pontormo, Bronzino, and the Medici: The Transformation of the Renaissance Portrait in Florence, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2004-2005, no. 28, repro.

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. 663.

1983

  • Wilson, Carolyn C. Renaissance Small Bronze Sculpture and Associated Decorative Arts at the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1983: 45, no. 19.

2007

  • Pollard, John Graham. Renaissance Medals. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. 2 vols. Washington, 2007: 2:no. 810, repro.

Inscriptions

around circumference: ALEXANDER M[edices] R[ei] P[ublicae] FLOREN[tinae] DVX

Wikidata ID

Q63854563

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