The Banishment of Coriolanus
1401 to 1500
Medium
bronze//Dark brown patina
Dimensions
overall: 4.4 x 5.1 cm (1 3/4 x 2 in.) gross weight: 43 gr
Classification
Sculpture
Department
CSD
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Accession Number
1957.14.271
Art Historical Context
This small bronze plaquette created sometime between 1401 and 1500, captures a dramatic moment from ancient Roman history: the banishment of the general Gaius Marcius Coriolanus. The unknown artist, known today as the Master of Coriolanus, chose a subject drawn from Plutarch that resonated strongly during the Renaissance, when classical stories of virtue, exile, and civic conflict were studied and admired. Cast in bronze with a rich dark brown patina, the piece measures just over four centimeters across, suggesting it was made as a portable collector’s item rather than a large public monument....