MEDAL
The word *medaglia* derives from the Latin *metalla* and in the Middle Ages denoted the *mezzo denaro* or obol. When this fell into disuse, the term remained to indicate a coin out of circulation, so that by extension every ancient coin, especially Roman or Greek, was then called a *medaglia*. Understood in the modern sense, a *medaglia* indicates a piece of metal, usually round in shape, struck or cast, and commemorating by types and legends a person or an event. What characterizes the *medaglia*, beyond the particularities of style, technique, and types, is above all its possibility of being issued even by private individuals, an element that clearly differentices it from the coin, which is always a direct emanation of state authority, whatever it may be. From this point of view, the modern *medaglia* also differs from Roman medallions, which consistently bore on the obverse the effigy of the emperor or of one of his family members to whom the emperor had granted the right of effigy, and on the reverse types allusive to the emperor’s achievements or to the political, military, and religious glories of the Empire.
The first *medaglia* of the modern era may be considered that cast by Vittore Pisano, Pisanello (v.), for Giovanni VIII Palaeologus in 1438, on the occasion of the Palaeologus’s visit to Italy for the Congress of Ferrara. This date marks the beginning of that medallic art which produced so many outstanding works in the Renaissance, since the few known specimens that predate Pisanello’s work, if they can be considered *medaglie*—that is, less shapeless pieces out of circulation and of a commemorative character—nevertheless remain isolated examples without any stylistic or technical connection to the subsequent production of the Quattrocento. Thus must be regarded
the two gold medallions, of which antique silver copies are preserved, mentioned in the early 15th century in the inventories of the collection of the Duke of Berry and representing on the obverse, one the Emperor Constantine, the other the Emperor Heraclius, and on the reverse scenes allusive to the legend of the Cross. Also distant in style and technique from Pisanello’s creations are the *medaglie* struck in 1390, for the reconquest of Padua, by Francesco II da Carrara and bearing on the obverse the portraits, strongly influenced by Roman sestertii, of Francesco I and Francesco II respectively, as well as the *medaglie* struck, in imitation of the antique, by the Sesti, a family of engravers of the Venetian mint, imitators of ancient coins and presumed authors of the Carrara medallions.
Beginning in 1438 with the *medaglia* of Giovanni VIII Palaeologus, Pisanello’s activity continued for about 20 years in various Italian cities. The artist was in Mantua, Ferrara, Naples, where he portrayed on his *medaglie* princes and condottieri, political and literary men among the most famous of his time. Among others, the *medaglie* of Gian Francesco Gonzaga of Mantua, of Niccolò Piccinino, of Lionello d’Este, of Cecilia Gonzaga, of Alfonso of Aragon are remembered. An outstanding portraitist, he also gave great care to the reverses, preferring in particular the representation of animals, which he often depicted in bold foreshortenings.
The success of Pisanello’s works brought great popularity to the *medaglia*, so that many artists followed in his footsteps, even though the master did not create a true school. The best among the Italians of the Quattrocento after Pisanello is Matteo dei Pasti of Verona, active first in Ferrara (*medaglia* of Guarino Veronese) and then, after 1446, in Rimini (*medaglia* of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, of Isotta degli Atti), where he worked for many years in the service of the Malatesta family. He is influenced by Pisanello but is inferior to him both in the rendering of portraits and in the composition of reverses. Of the other artists it will suffice to mention only the major ones, grouping them according to their places of origin or the schools to which they belonged. In Ferrara are to be remembered Antonio Marescotti and, later, Costanzo, author of the *medaglia* of Mohammed II; in Mantua, where Pisanello’s activity had created numerous followers, there worked, between the last decades of the Quattrocento and the early years of the Cinquecento, Bartolomeo Talpa, Pier Iacopo Alari Bonacolsi called l’Antico, Gian Cristoforo Romano, Bartolomeo Melioli, depicting predominantly members of the Gonzaga family. The greatest of the Mantuans was Sperandio Savelli, active in Ferrara, Bologna, and Venice, who shows in his portraits great vigour, though often lacking in grace, as well as a certain coldness in the composition and conception of the reverses.
Also from this period are Gianfranco Enzola, of Parma, author of the first attempts at struck *medaglie*; Giovanni Boldu and Marco Guidiziani, Venetians; Giulio della Torre and Giammaria Pomedelli, Veronese, whose activity, however, extends into the first decades of the Cinquecento. In Florence there worked Bertoldo di Giovanni, pupil of Donatello, and Niccolò di Forzore Spinelli, called Niccolò Fiorentino, the most eminent artist of the Florentine school; to him are attributed, besides a certain number of *medaglie* of Italian personages, also some dedicated to French personages of the suite of Charles VIII.
In Rome there were active Andrea Guazzalotti of Prato, to whom is owed a series of papal *medaglie* from Nicholas V to Sixtus IV; Cristoforo di Geremia of Mantua and his nephew Lisippo, the former also author of a fine *medaglia* of Alfonso V of Aragon and the principal exponent of the Roman school, which was chiefly devoted to the imitation of ancient models. To complete the picture of the Quattrocento, we may also recall Franco Cesco Francia in Bologna and the Caradosso in Milan and Rome, who worked in part also in the 16th century, both authors of struck *medaglie*.
In the Cinquecento the decline of the art of the *medaglia* soon becomes apparent. The process of striking, which in the previous century had already found its first masters in Francia, in Caradosso, and in others, now acquired ever greater importance, especially in papal *medaglie*. To this Benvenuto Cellini also contributed with his art, author of cast *medaglie*, but notable above all in those struck for Clement VII, with reverses echoing classical themes. The principal centres in the Cinquecento are Florence, Rome, Milan, and to a lesser extent Venice. In Florence there were active, besides Cellini, Pietro Torrigiano and Francesco da Sangallo, sculptors; Pastorino da Siena, Gian Paolo and Domenico Poggini, Pier Paolo Galeotti called Romano. In Rome, as has been said, striking predominated, preferred in papal *medaglie* for its lower cost and the greater speed of the process. Among the artists who came from all parts of Italy to work in the papal mint must be remembered Giampietro Crivelli of Milan, Giovanni Bernardi, the Florentine Domenico Poggini, and above all Alessandro Cesati, the best representative of the Roman school, who was succeeded in the papal mint by G. Antonio de’ Rossi of Milan. In the north, where the casting technique continued to prevail (an exception is the Paduan school with Valerio Belli and Giovanni Calvino, notorious forger of Roman coins), there was the Venetian school, with Andrea Spinelli, and, most important, the Milanese school, to which belong Leone Leoni, author of exquisite *medaglie* (among them those of Charles V), Iacopo Nizzola of Trezzo, also in the service of the Emperor and then of Philip II, and Antonio Abondio, the greatest exponent of the school, active above all abroad (Prague and Vienna) where he worked in the service of Maximilian II and Rudolph II.
BIBL.:
V. PISANELLO; MEDAGLIONE; MONETA.
In the first half of the 17th century, the 16th-century tradition continued, especially through the work of Gaspare Mola, author of some of the finest Medici and papal medals of the time. After this artist, however, the art of the medal declined into purely technical and mechanical skill, from which not even the artists working for the Papal Mint were entirely exempt. Among these, however, notable figures include Gaspare Morone Mola, nephew of the aforementioned Gaspare Mola, and the Hamerani family, a family of medallists of German origin who worked for several generations at the Mint of Rome: Alberto and Giovanni in the 17th century, Ermenegildo and Ottone in the following one. Also active in Rome were Francesco and Antonio Travani, the brothers Giuseppe and Stefano Ortolani, and Filippo Crapanese, medallists of Clement XIV. In Florence, Massimiliano Soldani Benzi distinguished himself, producing many cast medals of members of the grand ducal family.
Toward the end of the century and in the next, the influence of French medal-making was felt everywhere: among the leading exponents of this final period of Italian medallic art are L. Manfredini, engraver at the Mint of Milan, T. Mercandetti, F. Pertinati, and G. Giromenti.
Beyond Italy, the art of the medal flourished from the 16th century onward in other countries as well, almost everywhere under the influence of Italian art. Only Germany, in fact, can boast of an original and independent medallic tradition. In this country, two schools soon emerged: one in Augsburg, where the casting technique prevailed, and the other in Nuremberg, where medals, mostly struck, were often the work of goldsmiths. To the first school belonged in the 16th century Hans Schwarz, Hans Daucher, Hans Kels, Friedrich Hagenauer; to the second, Ludwig Krug, Matthes Gebel, Hans Reinhart, and others. In the following century, cast medals almost entirely disappeared, and few artists of any importance remained: notable are Sebastiano Dadler, Johann Höhn, George Schweickert, and Philip Heinrich Müller. The Baroque period marked in Germany a flourishing of the art of the medal, whose production continued in the centuries that followed down to the modern era.
In France, between the late 15th century and the early years of the 16th, medals were issued by cities to commemorate the visit of the King and his court. In the 16th century, medal-making reveals the influence of Italian artists working in France. Among French medallists worthy of note are Jean Goujon and, later, Guillaume Dupré and Jean Warin, the finest among French artists of the 17th century.
To the time of Louis XIV dates a series of medals intended to illustrate the most important events of the reign: among those who collaborated on this series were Ch. J. François Cheron, already a medallist at the Papal court, Jean Manger, and Joseph Roettier. Later are Jean Duvivier, Simon Curé, and Jean Leblanc, also authors of official medals commemorating illustrious persons or important events. After a period of decline, a revival of French medal-making occurred in the 19th century, whose influence was also felt by contemporary Italian artists.
In the Netherlands, too, medal-making was influenced by Italy: among the artists active in the 16th century, Quintin Metsys and Jean Second stand out; somewhat later is Jacques Jonghelnick. Superior to all is Stefano d'Olanda, whose signature Steffi appears on Flemish and foreign medals. Notable for his portraits is also Corrado Bloc. In the 17th century, Adrian Waterloo and Jean de Montfort are also remembered.
In Spain, there was no true school of medallists; in England, medals by English artists date only from the time of Henry VIII and his successors. During this period, foreign artists also worked in England, such as the Fleming Simon van de Passe and the Frenchmen Nicolas Briot and Jean Warin; among the English in the 17th century, Thomas Rawlins and especially Abraham and Thomas Simon are to be noted. With the advent of the House of Hanover, German artists came to England, and only in the second half of the 18th century did English medallists appear, among whom the only important one was Thomas Perigo, of Italian origin. - See pl. XXXIII.
Franco Panvini Rosati