Leonello d'Este
Medal
1444 (dated)
1444 (dated)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Leonello d’Este, Marquess of Ferrara (1441–50), was an intellectual ruler and passionate about the arts. He commissioned this medal from Pisanello to mark his marriage to Maria of Aragon in 1444. Pisanello established the format for the portrait medal and produced superb examples for the d’Este family.
Born Pisa or Verona, by 1395. Italian painter, draughtsman and medallist. His richly decorative frescoes, courtly and elegant painted portraits and highly original portrait medals made him one of the most popular artists of the day. He travelled extensively and worked for several Italian courts, at Mantua, Ferrara, Pavia, Milan and Naples. Many of his paintings have been lost or damaged, making a reconstruction of his career difficult. He is now better known as a medallist.
Two-sided Renaissance portrait medals were a form developed by Pisanello, and commemorated individuals or events and functioned as gifts and mementoes. They were inspired by the Roman coins, with their portraits of rulers and allegorical representations on the reverse, excavated all over Italy and eagerly collected by humanist scholars.
Born Pisa or Verona, by 1395. Italian painter, draughtsman and medallist. His richly decorative frescoes, courtly and elegant painted portraits and highly original portrait medals made him one of the most popular artists of the day. He travelled extensively and worked for several Italian courts, at Mantua, Ferrara, Pavia, Milan and Naples. Many of his paintings have been lost or damaged, making a reconstruction of his career difficult. He is now better known as a medallist.
Two-sided Renaissance portrait medals were a form developed by Pisanello, and commemorated individuals or events and functioned as gifts and mementoes. They were inspired by the Roman coins, with their portraits of rulers and allegorical representations on the reverse, excavated all over Italy and eagerly collected by humanist scholars.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Leonello d'Este (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Bronze, cast |
| Brief description | Medal, bronze, by Pisanello, Italy, signed and dated 1444 |
| Physical description | Bronze medal, obv; a bust of Leonello d'Este Marquis of Ferrara and Rev; cupid with a lion, inscribed with an identification of the sitter, signed and dated 1444 |
| Dimensions |
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| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Leonello d’Este, Marquess of Ferrara (1441–50), was an intellectual ruler and passionate about the arts. He commissioned this medal from Pisanello to mark his marriage to Maria of Aragon in 1444. Pisanello established the format for the portrait medal and produced superb examples for the d’Este family. Born Pisa or Verona, by 1395. Italian painter, draughtsman and medallist. His richly decorative frescoes, courtly and elegant painted portraits and highly original portrait medals made him one of the most popular artists of the day. He travelled extensively and worked for several Italian courts, at Mantua, Ferrara, Pavia, Milan and Naples. Many of his paintings have been lost or damaged, making a reconstruction of his career difficult. He is now better known as a medallist. Two-sided Renaissance portrait medals were a form developed by Pisanello, and commemorated individuals or events and functioned as gifts and mementoes. They were inspired by the Roman coins, with their portraits of rulers and allegorical representations on the reverse, excavated all over Italy and eagerly collected by humanist scholars. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 7130-1860 |
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| Record created | August 31, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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