Portrait of Argentina Rangona (d. 1550)

Art Historical Context

Behold the delicate bronze medal *Portrait of Argentina Rangonad. 1550)* by Italian artist Niccolò Cavallerino, sometime between 1500 and1550. This intimate portrait, just 2½ inches in diameter, captures profile of Rangona, likely a noblewoman from Renaissance Italy, in a classical style reminiscent of ancient Roman. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of European Sculpture and Decor Arts, it entered the collection through the bequest of Anne D. in 1923. Cavallerino's mastery shines in the medal's fine bronze casting, a technique perfected during the Italian Renaissance for ...