Emperor John VIII Palaeologus (obverse); Emperor on Horseback (reverse)

Inscriptions

Obverse: (in Greek) IWNNHC BACI EVC KAI AVTOKPATWP PWMAIWN O TTA AIO O OC [pellets between words] Reverse: (in Greek) OPVS PISANI PICTORIS / EP ON TOV TTICANOV ZW PAOOV [pellets between words]

Label

This large, heavy medal exists in numerous casts in multiple metals, including the bronze and lead examples here. Widely regarded as the first Renaissance portrait medal, it commemorates the events of the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1438–39, which was called in an attempt to bring together the Western Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church as political allies. Artists or collectors might choose to use different metals for a variety of reasons. Bronze, which was favored by collectors, evoked classical Antiquity and produced crisp imagery and inscriptions. Lead, in contrast, was inexpensive but also resulted in softer contours and hazier details.

From the 2024 exhibition Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, curated by Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art, and Ashley B. Offill, Curator of Collections

Course History

ARTH 84, Media and Meaning in Renaissance Sculpture, Adrian Randolph, Fall 2013

History 10.02, Archival Research, M. Cecillia Gaposchkin, Summer 2023

History 42.01, Women's Gender, and Sexuality Studies 22.01, Gender & European Society, Patrick Meehan, Spring 2024

History 96.39, Saints and Relics, Cecilia Gaposchkin, Spring 2024

Italian 1.01, Introductory Italian I, Noemi Perego, Spring 2024

Italian 11.01, Intensive Italian, Floriana Ciniglia, Spring 2024

Italian 2.01, Introductory Italian II, Floriana Ciniglia, Spring 2024

Italian 3.01, Introductory Italian III, Tania Convertini, Spring 2024

Italian 3.02, Introductory Italian III, Giorgio Alberti, Spring 2024

History 10.02, Archival Research and the Production of History, Leslie Butler, Summer 2024

Exhibition History

European Bronzes from the Collection of Roger Arvid Anderson, Class of 1968, Gene Y. Kim, Class of 1985, Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 19, 1996-June 22, 1997, no. 7.

Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, Citrin Family Gallery and Engles Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 23, 2024–March 22, 2025.

Renaissance and Mannerist Plaquettes and Medals from the Collection of Roger Arvid Anderson, Class of 1968, Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, September 19-November 21, 2013.

Publication History

Roger Arvid Anderson, The Roger Arvid Anderson Collection, Medals, Medallions, Plaquettes and Small Reliefs, Paintings, Sculpture, Works on Paper and Textiles, San Francisco: Roger Arvid Anderson (published privately), design by David L. Wilson, 2015, p. 2-3.

Provenance

Michael Hall Fine Arts, Inc., New York, New York, date unknown; sold to Roger Arvid Anderson, San Francisco, California, date unknown; lent to present collection, 1992; given to present collection, 2016.

Catalogue Raisonne

Kress, No. 1; Hill Corpus, No. 19; Molinari, No. 1; Wixom, No. 17

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