Ottaviano Sforza Riario, b. 1479, Count of Forli and Imola [obverse]
c. 1498
![Ottaviano Sforza Riario, b. 1479, Count of Forli and Imola [obverse] by Style of Niccolò Fiorentino](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/nga/thumb/ottaviano-sforza-riario-b-1479-count-of-forli-and-nga-44842.webp)
Medium
bronze//Late cast
Dimensions
overall (diameter): 7.26 cm (2 7/8 in.) gross weight: 165.2 gr (0.364 lb.) axis: 1:00
Classification
Sculpture
Department
CSD
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Accession Number
1957.14.878.a
Art Historical Context
This bronze medal, created around 1498 in the style of the Florentine medallist Niccolò Fiorentino, portrays Ottaviano Sforza Riario on its obverse. Born in 1479, the young sitter is identified as Count of Forlì and Imola, reflecting the complex web of noble families that shaped Renaissance politics in central Italy. As a late cast, the piece preserves the crisp profile format typical of fifteenth-century commemorative medals while offering later audiences access to an earlier design. Renaissance medals like this one served as portable portraits, blending sculpture and currency to celebrate s...
About the Artist
Style of Niccolò Fiorentino
"Style of Niccolò Fiorentino" refers to the distinctive manner of bronze portrait medals produced by the workshop, circle, or close followers of the Florentine medallist Niccolò di Forzore Spinelli (1430–1514), known as Niccolò Fiorentino. Born into a prominent family of Florentine goldsmiths, Spinelli—great-nephew of the painter Spinello Aretino—emerged as one of the leading figures in the burgeo...