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Medal: Giovanni de'Medici delle Bande Nere

model 1522 or ca. 1570 (cast 16th century)
Not on view
On the obverse is a portrait of the condottiere Giovanni
de’ Medici delle Bande Nere (1498 – 1526), and on the
reverse is his impresa of a winged thunderbolt. The medal may date to 1570 on the basis of
striking similarities in style and composition with two
other Medici medals, representing Gian Giacomo
de’ Medici (inscribed 1555 for his year of death) and
Cosimo de’ Medici, the son of Giovanni de’ Medici delle
Bande Nere (inscribed 1570). All three
medals could have formed part of a propaganda series,
planned by Cosimo in or about 1570 to honor his family.
The significance of the inscribed date 1522 remains
unclear. The year does not seem to commemorate any
specific moment in Giovanni’s career. Sangallo’s undated
marble bust of Giovanni is in the Museo Nazionale del
Bargello, Florence. This sixteenth-century cast is sharp
and well defined.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Medal: Giovanni de'Medici delle Bande Nere
  • Artist: Francesco da Sangallo (Italian, 1494–1576)
  • Date: model 1522 or ca. 1570 (cast 16th century)
  • Medium: Lead.
  • Dimensions: Diam. 9.2 cm, wt. 271.49 g.
  • Classification: Medals
  • Credit Line: Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.1.1315
  • Curatorial Department: The Robert Lehman Collection

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Giovanni de'Medici della Bande Nere (1498–1526), a Celebrated Condottiere, and Father of Cosimo I, Francesco da Sangallo Italian, Bronze, Italian, Florence
Giovanni de'Medici della Bande Nere (1498–1526), a Celebrated Condottiere, and Father of Cosimo I
Francesco da Sangallo
ca. 1570
Paolo Giovio, Historian and Prelate, Bishop of Nocera (d. 1552), Francesco da Sangallo Italian, Bronze, Italian, possibly Florence
Paolo Giovio, Historian and Prelate, Bishop of Nocera (d. 1552)
Francesco da Sangallo
1552
Francesco da Sangallo, Francesco da Sangallo Italian, Bronze, Italian, Florence
Francesco da Sangallo
Francesco da Sangallo
1551
Francesco da Sangallo and Elena Marsupini, his wife, Francesco da Sangallo Italian, Bronze, Italian, Florence
Francesco da Sangallo and Elena Marsupini, his wife
Francesco da Sangallo
1551
Portrait medal of Paolo Giovio (obverse); Giovio Raising a Man from a Grave (reverse), Francesco da Sangallo Italian, Bronze (Copper alloy with brown patina<br/>under a layer of dark wax.)
Portrait medal of Paolo Giovio (obverse); Giovio Raising a Man from a Grave (reverse)
Francesco da Sangallo
model ca. 1552 (probably a later cast)

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