William Pitt
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
Diameter: 8 3/8 in. (213 mm)
Classification
Medals and Plaquettes
Culture
British
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Assunta Sommella Peluso, Ada Peluso, and Romano I. Peluso, in memory of Ignazio Peluso, 2000
Accession Number
2000.224.20
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking bronze medal, titled *William Pitt* and crafted by Thomas Wyon the in 1814, honors the renowned British Prime Minister William Pitt Younger (1759–1806). Wyon, a master engraver from a distinguished family of medalists and coin designers, produced this piece eight years after Pitt's death, capturing his profile in a classical style that evokes ancient Roman portraiture. Measuring 8 3/8 inches (213 mm) in diameter it exemplifies the neoclassical precision of early 19th-century British medallic art, now housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Sculpture and Decorative Art...