The Peace of the Pyrenees [reverse]
1660
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
overall (diameter): 5.3 cm (2 1/16 in.) gross weight: 60.15 gr (0.133 lb.) axis: 12:00
Classification
Sculpture
Department
CSD
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Lisa and Leonard Baskin
Accession Number
1999.109.20.b
Art Historical Context
Behold *The Peace of the Pyrene [reverse]*, a finely crafted bronze medal by Jean Warin, the esteemed French medallist and sculptor to King Louis XIV. Struck in 1660, this 5.3 cm diameter (weighing 60.15 grams) commemorates the 1659 treaty between France and Spain, which ended decades of conflict along the Pyrenees border. The obverse likely features royal portraits, while this reverse symbolizes the hard-won peace through allegorical imagery typical of the era's diplomatic art. Warin, a master of the Baroque medal tradition, employed intricate low-relief techniques in bronze casting to achie...