John Palaeologus VIII thumbnail 1
John Palaeologus VIII thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 63, The Edwin and Susan Davies Gallery

John Palaeologus VIII

Medal
ca. 1438-1443 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is probably the earliest surviving Renaissance portrait medal. It shows the Byzantine emperor who travelled to Italy to take part in the discussions between the western and eastern churches in 1438–9. The image provided a prototype for an eastern ruler in exotic garb. Some early European depictions of Mehmed II show him in the same dress.

Pisanello (Antonio Pisano) (b.ca. 1395; d. 1455) was born Pisa or Verona, by 1395. He was an 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
TitleJohn Palaeologus VIII (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Cast bronze
Brief description
Medal, bronze, of John Palaeologus (1390-1448), by Pisanello, Italy (Verona), ca. 1438-1443
Physical description
Medal in bronze of John Paleologus (1390-1448) Emperor of Byzantium .
Obverse: bust to right of the Emperor, in a high hat with a peaked brim.
Reverse: The Emperor on horse-back turned to the right stopping to pray before a wayside cross. To the left a page on a horse foreshortened from behind. Rocky background. The signature is given 'OPVS PISANI PICTORIS'.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 10.27cm
  • Depth: 0.8cm
  • Weight: 0.342kg
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Marks and inscriptions
'OPVS PISANI PICTORIS' (reverse)
Credit line
Salting Bequest
Object history
From the Salting bequest.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This is probably the earliest surviving Renaissance portrait medal. It shows the Byzantine emperor who travelled to Italy to take part in the discussions between the western and eastern churches in 1438–9. The image provided a prototype for an eastern ruler in exotic garb. Some early European depictions of Mehmed II show him in the same dress.

Pisanello (Antonio Pisano) (b.ca. 1395; d. 1455) was born Pisa or Verona, by 1395. He was an 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
  • Scher, Stephen K, The Currency of fame: portrait medals of the Renaissance, New York, National Gallery of Art (U.S.), Frick Collection., 1994 pp.44-46
  • Pisanello. Le Peintre aux sept vertus. (exh. cat), medal entries by Sylvie de Turckheim-Pey, Paris, 1996 (Musée du Louvre, Paris), pp. 209-210, cat. No. 119, illus. p . 202
  • Tania L. Jones, 'The Constantine and Heraclius Medallions', The Medal, no. 56, Spring 2010, pp.5-14
  • Waddington, Raymond B., 'Breaking News: Representing the Islamic Other on Renaissance Medals', The Medal, no. 53, autumn 2008, pp. 6-20.
  • 'Salting Bequest (A. 70 to A. 1029-1910) / Murray Bequest (A. 1030 to A. 1096-1910)'. In: List of Works of Art Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum (Department of Architecture and Sculpture). London: Printed under the Authority of his Majesty's Stationery Office, by Eyre and Spottiswoode, Limited, East Harding Street, EC, p. 18
Collection
Accession number
A.169-1910

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Record createdFebruary 23, 2004
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