Medal of Niccolò Piccinino
medalist
Pisanello
(Pisa or Verona, by 1395 - about 1455)
Dateabout 1441
Place MadeNorthern Italy, Italy, Europe
MediumBronze
Dimensions8.6 cm (3 3/8 in.)
ClassificationsMedals and Medallions
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberS15w32
eMuseum ID730850
EmbARK ObjectID11695
TMS Source ID882
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryNiccolo Piccinino was the successful commander of the Milanese forces in their war with the Venetians, and was adopted by the Duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti, at the time of the peace treaty of 1439. The medal, the obverse profile of which is clearly closely related to that of Visconti (see S15w30), was cast about 1441. On the reverse, the griffin, a symbol of Piccinino's native Perugia, is suckling two infants, referring to the legend of Romulus and Remus.
Antonio di Puccio Pisani, known as Pisanello, was an acclaimed painter and lauded as the founder of the modern medal in the Renaissance.
Antonio di Puccio Pisani, known as Pisanello, was an acclaimed painter and lauded as the founder of the modern medal in the Renaissance.
BibliographyNotesPaul Chevallier and Charles Mannheim. Catalogue des Objets d'Art et de haute curiosite Antiques, du Moyen-Age & de la Renaissance composant l'importante et precieuse Collection Spitzer (Paris, 13 April - 16 June 1893), p. 228, lot. 1363.
"Loans Recieved in 1908." Annual Report of the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, 1908), p. 105.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 100.
“Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 6, no. 45 (7 Jul. 1963), pp. 1-2.
Frederick den Broeder. "Italian Renaissance Medals." Fenway Court (Jan. 1967), pp. 25-32, ill. 26.
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston: 1977), p. 130, no. 161.
Pisanello. Le Peintre aux sept vertus. Exh. cat. (Paris: Musée du Louvre, 1996), pp. 212-13, no. 123, ill. pp. 202, 204. (entry by Sylvie de Turckheim-Pey)
Tanya Karpiak. "The medallic secrets of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum." The Medal (Autumn 2014), pp. 14-15.
"Loans Recieved in 1908." Annual Report of the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, 1908), p. 105.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 100.
“Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 6, no. 45 (7 Jul. 1963), pp. 1-2.
Frederick den Broeder. "Italian Renaissance Medals." Fenway Court (Jan. 1967), pp. 25-32, ill. 26.
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston: 1977), p. 130, no. 161.
Pisanello. Le Peintre aux sept vertus. Exh. cat. (Paris: Musée du Louvre, 1996), pp. 212-13, no. 123, ill. pp. 202, 204. (entry by Sylvie de Turckheim-Pey)
Tanya Karpiak. "The medallic secrets of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum." The Medal (Autumn 2014), pp. 14-15.
MarksNotesInscribed (Obverse): N I C O L A V S . P I C I N I N V S . V I C E C O M E S . M A R C H I O . C A P I T A N E V S . M A X . (imus A C . MARS . AL TE R (alter).
Inscribed (reverse): P E R V S I A . B R A C C I V S . P I S A N I . P . O P V S . N . P I C I N I N V S.
Inscribed (reverse): P E R V S I A . B R A C C I V S . P I S A N I . P . O P V S . N . P I C I N I N V S.
ProvenanceNotesCollection of the art dealer Frédéric Spitzer (1815-1890).
Isabella Stewart Gardner purchased at the Spitzer collection sale, Paris on 31 May 1893 (No. 1363) for 998 francs through the art collector Gustave Dreyfus and Ralph W. Curtis (1854–1922), American painter and collector.
Isabella Stewart Gardner purchased at the Spitzer collection sale, Paris on 31 May 1893 (No. 1363) for 998 francs through the art collector Gustave Dreyfus and Ralph W. Curtis (1854–1922), American painter and collector.
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