Gentleness Standing on a Serpent and Holding a Dove [reverse]
c. 1575
![Gentleness Standing on a Serpent and Holding a Dove [reverse] by Medalist T.R.](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/nga/thumb/gentleness-standing-on-a-serpent-and-holding-a-nga-45165.webp)
Medium
lead
Dimensions
overall (oval): 3.43 × 2.82 cm (1 3/8 × 1 1/8 in.) gross weight: 13.12 gr (0.029 lb.) axis: 12:00
Classification
Sculpture
Department
CSD
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Accession Number
1957.14.1068.b
Art Historical Context
This delicate lead medal, created around 1575 by an artist known only as Medalist T.R., captures the allegorical figure of Gentleness in an oval format just over an inch wide. The reverse side depicts a graceful personification standing triumphantly on a serpent while cradling dove, evoking themes of virtue overcoming temptation and the harmony of peace with wisdom. Such symbolic imagery was common in Renaissance Europe, where medals served as portable emblems of moral ideals or personal mottos. Renaissance medalists often worked in lead or bronze to produce affordable, intimate works that bl...