Catelani Casali
Medal
ca. 1490 (made)
ca. 1490 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This bronze medal is made by Sperandio of Mantua in ca. 1490 in Italy and represents the bust of Catalano Casali.
Sperandio Savelli (ca. 1425 - 1504), a prolific medallist if inferior imitator of Pisanello, was born in Mantua and grew up and worked mainly in Ferrara. From 1478 to ca. 1490, however, he worked at Bologna. He got his training from his father. It is not clear when he started his medallic work, but no work could be attributed to him before 1460. It seems that Sperandio was working for Borso d'Este from the early 1460s on a continuous basis.
His activities were quite varied and there is evidence that he was also working as a goldsmith and painter. During a short stay in Faenza he was appointed by the Manfredi family to work in bronze, marble, terracotta and lead, as well as for works in gold, drawings and paintings. Lodovico Gonzaga, bishop of Mantua, recommended him to his brother Gianfrancesco as a cannon founder and architect and that is how Sperandio spent his last years of working in Venice.
Sperandio Savelli (ca. 1425 - 1504), a prolific medallist if inferior imitator of Pisanello, was born in Mantua and grew up and worked mainly in Ferrara. From 1478 to ca. 1490, however, he worked at Bologna. He got his training from his father. It is not clear when he started his medallic work, but no work could be attributed to him before 1460. It seems that Sperandio was working for Borso d'Este from the early 1460s on a continuous basis.
His activities were quite varied and there is evidence that he was also working as a goldsmith and painter. During a short stay in Faenza he was appointed by the Manfredi family to work in bronze, marble, terracotta and lead, as well as for works in gold, drawings and paintings. Lodovico Gonzaga, bishop of Mantua, recommended him to his brother Gianfrancesco as a cannon founder and architect and that is how Sperandio spent his last years of working in Venice.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Catelani Casali (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Bronze |
| Brief description | Medal, bronze, bust of Catelani Casali of Bologna, by Sperandio, Italy, ca.1490. |
| Physical description | This medal depicts on the obverse the bust of Catelano Casali and on the reverse an allegorical scene with Casali grasping the trunk of an oak tree, a woman, and a sleeping child. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Object history | Bought, £1 in 1861. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This bronze medal is made by Sperandio of Mantua in ca. 1490 in Italy and represents the bust of Catalano Casali. Sperandio Savelli (ca. 1425 - 1504), a prolific medallist if inferior imitator of Pisanello, was born in Mantua and grew up and worked mainly in Ferrara. From 1478 to ca. 1490, however, he worked at Bologna. He got his training from his father. It is not clear when he started his medallic work, but no work could be attributed to him before 1460. It seems that Sperandio was working for Borso d'Este from the early 1460s on a continuous basis. His activities were quite varied and there is evidence that he was also working as a goldsmith and painter. During a short stay in Faenza he was appointed by the Manfredi family to work in bronze, marble, terracotta and lead, as well as for works in gold, drawings and paintings. Lodovico Gonzaga, bishop of Mantua, recommended him to his brother Gianfrancesco as a cannon founder and architect and that is how Sperandio spent his last years of working in Venice. |
| Bibliographic reference | Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1861. 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. 23 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 7663-1861 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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