Portrait medal of Cecilia Gonzaga (obverse); Innocence and a Unicorn in a Moonlit Landscape (reverse)
model 1447 (old aftercast)
Medium
Bronze (copper alloy with warm brown patina under a worn layer of black wax)
Dimensions
Diameter: 3 5/16 in., 142.55g (8.4 cm)
Classification
Medals
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.1307
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the Renaissance world of Pisanello, the masterful Italian artist Antonio di Puccio Pisano (ca. 1395–1455), with this exquisite bronze portrait medal from 1447. Modeled during the height of the Italian Renaissance, it honors Cecilia Gonzaga, a noblewoman from the powerful Gonzaga family of Mantua As one of the earliest revivers of the classical portrait medal—drawing inspiration from ancient Roman coinsPisanello elevated these small-scale sculptures into profound statements of humanism and individuality. This example, an old aftercast from the original mold, captures the era's fascina...