Marco Mantova Benavides, 1489-1582, Lawyer and Collector [obverse]
1540 or before
![Marco Mantova Benavides, 1489-1582, Lawyer and Collector [obverse] by Giovanni da Cavino](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/nga/thumb/marco-mantova-benavides-1489-1582-lawyer-and-nga-67040.webp)
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
overall (diameter): 3.8 cm (1 1/2 in.) gross weight: 28.72 gr (0.063 lb.) axis: 5:00
Classification
Sculpture
Department
CSD
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Sculpture and Decorative Arts Curators Fund
Accession Number
1986.29.1.a
Art Historical Context
This bronze medal, created by the Paduan artist Giovanni da Cavino around 1540 or earlier, presents the obverse portrait of Mantova Benavides, a distinguished lawyer and collector who lived from 1489 to 1582. Such portrait medals were a hallmark of Renaissance culture, allowing scholars, patrons, and professionals to be commemorated in a durable, intimate format that echoed the coins of ancient Rome. At just 3.8 centimeters in diameter, the piece would have been held in the hand, inviting close appreciation of its fine details. Cavino specialized in these small-scale bronze works, often produ...
About the Artist
Giovanni da Cavino · 1500–1570
**Giovanni da Cavino: The Paduan Master of Medals and Antiquity** Giovanni da Cavino, born in May 1500 in Padua to goldsmith Bartolommeo di Giovanni from Cavino d'Arsego, inherited his family's craft from an early age. His father served as his initial master until Bartolommeo's death in 1517, after which Cavino trained in the workshop of the renowned Paduan sculptor Andrea Riccio (1470–1532), who...