Giovanni Boldu thumbnail 1
Giovanni Boldu thumbnail 2
+3
images
Not currently on display at the V&A

Giovanni Boldu

Medal
1458 (made)
Artist/Maker
Boldu, Giovanni (medallist)
Place of origin
Italy (made)

This medal is made by Giovanni Boldu in Venice, Italy in 1458. On the obverse it depicts a self-portrait of the latter, a bust facing to the left. On the reverse is a seated youth and a putto leaning on a skull.

Giovanni Boldù (Giovanni Pasqualino Boldù) was a sculptor situated in Venice, who was active in the years 1454-1475.
He describes himself on his medals as a painter; nothing is known of his paintings, but in documents he is called Pictor or depentor, also maistro de nape (Venetian for 'mappe'), indicating that he was concerned with the decoration of chimney-pieces.


Object details

Categories
Coins & Medals
Portraits
Sculpture
Object type
Medal
TitleGiovanni Boldu (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Bronze
Bronze
Brief description
Medal, depicting bust of sculptor Giovanni Boldu, by Giovanni Boldu, Italy, Venice, dated 1458
Physical description
Medal depicts on the obverse bust of Giovanni Boldu, in the style of the antique, surrounded by his name in Greek; on the reverse it shows a man, seated, covering his face with his hands; near him a Cupid leaning on a skull. Signed by Boldu.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 8.9cm
  • Weight: .18kg
Production
Venice
Subjects depicted
Man
Skull
Youth
Putto
Cupid
Boldu, Giovanni
Summary
This medal is made by Giovanni Boldu in Venice, Italy in 1458. On the obverse it depicts a self-portrait of the latter, a bust facing to the left. On the reverse is a seated youth and a putto leaning on a skull.

Giovanni Boldù (Giovanni Pasqualino Boldù) was a sculptor situated in Venice, who was active in the years 1454-1475.
He describes himself on his medals as a painter; nothing is known of his paintings, but in documents he is called Pictor or depentor, also maistro de nape (Venetian for 'mappe'), indicating that he was concerned with the decoration of chimney-pieces.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1858. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 17
  • Hill, George Francis. A Corpus of Italian Medals of the Renaissance, Before Cellini, Volume I, Text. London: British Museum, 1930, p. 111
  • Scher, Stephen K, The Currency of fame: portrait medals of the Renaissance, New York, National Gallery of Art (U.S.), Frick Collection., 1994 pp.102-103
  • Warren, Jeremy, with contributions from Kim, S. and Kosinova, A., The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Italian Sculpture, Vol. 1, London, 2016, p. 188, fig. 47.2
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
4503-1858

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJune 4, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O238679/giovanni-boldu-medal-boldu-giovanni/
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest