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50,53,54 Portrait Medals

Fifteenth-century Italy saw the production of portrait medals modeled on ancient coins bearing the profiles of Roman emperors and their families, and the trend gradually spread throughout Europe. The obverse side of each of these medals depicts a person, while the reverse features a combination of imagery and inscriptions that allude to the individual’s social status, political achievements, virtues, and other qualities.

Medal: Ludovico Sforza (1451-1508) / A cavalry parade

This medal depicts Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan (r. 1494–1499), a man who is well known for his patronage of Leonardo da Vinci. The reverse depicts a scene alluding to Ludovico’s occupation of Genoa in 1488: Ludovico’s nephew Gian Galeazzo Sforza, the preceding Duke of Milan (r. 1476–1494), receiving a delegation from Genoa. Ludovico acted as regent for Gian Galeazzo, who had become duke at a young age, and was thereby the de facto ruler of the duchy even before he rose to the dukedom himself.

Medal: Elisabetta Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino (1471-1526) / Fortune fleeing

Elisabetta Gonzaga, daughter of the Marquis of Mantua and Duchess of Urbino, epitomized the Renaissance ideal of a highly cultured noblewoman. Her hairstyle and the arrangement of her necklace on this medal reflect the fashions of northern Italy in the 1490s, and are stylistically similar to those depicted in Leonardo’s La Belle Ferronnière. The imagery on the reverse side of the medal has continued to puzzle scholars. At first, it was interpreted as a symbol of misfortune, but it could be a depiction of the Greek mythological figure Danaë. The relationship between the images on the obverse and reverse sides of the medal remains unclear.

Medal: Isabella of Aragon, Duchess of Milan (1470-1524) / Nude woman standing before a palm tree

Isabella of Aragon was the daughter of the King of Naples, and in 1489, she married the Duke of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Sforza, thereby becoming the Duchess of Milan. Some researchers have suggested she was Leonardo’s model for La Belle Ferronnière, but this remains unproven, as no portrait clearly showing her features has survived. The nude female figure on the reverse of the medal is likely a personification of virtue. The palm tree was another motif sometimes used as a symbol of virtue or moral victory.