Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta
After Matteo di Andrea de'Pasti, Italian, 1420 - 1468
1441-1468, later aftercast
Bronze with silvering
Overall: 3 9/16 × 3 9/16 × 3/8 in. (9 × 9 × 0.9 cm)
Weight: 210 g (0.5 lb.)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Roger Arvid Anderson Collection - 250th Anniversary Gift, 1769-2019
2016.64.99
Geography
Place Made: Italy, Europe
Period
1400-1600
Object Name
Sculpture: Medal
Research Area
Sculpture
On view
Label
Medals were essential communicators of dynastic ambitions in northern Italian court cities. Rulers such as the d’Este and Malatesta families began as mercenary generals (condottieri) who sought to transform their military proficiency into permanent political positions. By the 15th century, both families were well established. Artistic exchange was key to their self-image and intermarriage. The visual language of their medals strengthened the families’ claims to power by celebrating powerful alliances, monumental building initiatives, praiseworthy virtues, connections to historical and contemporary rulers, and even divine vows.
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
HIST 43.02, European Intellectual and Cultural History 1400-1800, Darrin McMahon, Fall 2019
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
Exhibition History
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. 25.
Provenance
Christie's East, New York, November 18, 1986, lot 60/8; to Blumka Gallery, New York, New York; sold to Roger Arvid Anderson, San Francisco, California, 1986; lent to present collection, 1994; given to present collection, 2016.
Catalogue Raisonne
Kress, No. 67; Hill Corpus, No. 190
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