Giovanni Aurispa, Secretary to Popes Eugene IV and Nicholas V (ca. 1369–1459)

Art Historical Context

This exquisite bronze medal, crafted by an unknown Italian artist in the 16th century, immortalizes Giovanni Aurispa (ca. 1369–1459), a prominent humanist scholar and secretary to Popes Eugene IV and Nicholas V. Measuring just 2 inches in diameter, it captures Aurispa's profile with classical precision, a nod to the Renaissance revival of ancient Roman coin portraits. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Sculpture and Decorative Arts department, it was generously gifted by Ogden Mills in 1926. Medals and plaquettes like this one flourished in Renaissance Italy as portable comme...