Medal
1447 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This bronze medal representing Cecilia Gonzaga is made by Pisanello in 1447 in Italy.
Cecilia Gonzaga became a prodigy of learning and chastity. She was one of the cleverest of Vittorino's pupils and astonished Ambrogio Traversari by her progress in Greek at the age of seven. She was tall and beautiful. She became a Clarissan nun at Santa Paola, a convent attached to the church of Corpus Domini in Mantua. Three of her brothers and a large crowd escorted her through the streets of Mantua, when she entered the convent.
Although this medal commemorates this event, she is shown in secular dress with hair tied back. This suggests that Pisanello was not in Mantua in 1447 and used an earlier drawing.
Pisanello was born in Pisa or Verona, by 1395 and was an Italian painter, draughtsman and medallist. His richly decorative frescoes, courtly and elegantly 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.
Cecilia Gonzaga became a prodigy of learning and chastity. She was one of the cleverest of Vittorino's pupils and astonished Ambrogio Traversari by her progress in Greek at the age of seven. She was tall and beautiful. She became a Clarissan nun at Santa Paola, a convent attached to the church of Corpus Domini in Mantua. Three of her brothers and a large crowd escorted her through the streets of Mantua, when she entered the convent.
Although this medal commemorates this event, she is shown in secular dress with hair tied back. This suggests that Pisanello was not in Mantua in 1447 and used an earlier drawing.
Pisanello was born in Pisa or Verona, by 1395 and was an Italian painter, draughtsman and medallist. His richly decorative frescoes, courtly and elegantly 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 | |
| Materials and techniques | Bronze |
| Brief description | Medal, bronze, Cecilia Gonzaga, by Pisanello, Italy, dated 1447 |
| Physical description | Medal depicts on the obverse the bust of Cecilia Gonzaga and on the reverse a maiden with a unicorn in a moonlit landscape. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Historical context | Cecilia became a prodigy of learning and chastity. She was one of the cleverest of Vittorino's pupils and astonished Ambrogio Traversari by her progress in Greek at the age of seven. She was tall and beautiful. She became a Clarissan nun at Santa Paola, a convent attached to the church of Corpus Domini in Mantua. Three of her brothers and a large crowd escorted her through the streets of Mantua, when she entered the convent. Although this medal commemorates this event, she is shown in secular dress with hair tied back. This suggests that Pisanello was not in Mantua in 1447 and used an earlier drawing. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This bronze medal representing Cecilia Gonzaga is made by Pisanello in 1447 in Italy. Cecilia Gonzaga became a prodigy of learning and chastity. She was one of the cleverest of Vittorino's pupils and astonished Ambrogio Traversari by her progress in Greek at the age of seven. She was tall and beautiful. She became a Clarissan nun at Santa Paola, a convent attached to the church of Corpus Domini in Mantua. Three of her brothers and a large crowd escorted her through the streets of Mantua, when she entered the convent. Although this medal commemorates this event, she is shown in secular dress with hair tied back. This suggests that Pisanello was not in Mantua in 1447 and used an earlier drawing. Pisanello was born in Pisa or Verona, by 1395 and was an Italian painter, draughtsman and medallist. His richly decorative frescoes, courtly and elegantly 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 | 7131-1860 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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