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Medal with a Portrait of Giovanni II Bentivoglio

Sperandio of Mantua

Basic information

ID: С-II-696
Author: Sperandio of Mantua
Name: Medal with a Portrait of Giovanni II Bentivoglio
Date of creation: 2nd half of the 15th c.
Technique: moulding
Material: bronze
Dimensions (diameter, cm): 10.2

Additionally

Type: sculpture (relief) numismatics
Genre: portraiture
Plot: Portrait
Provenance: Collection of Wladyslaw Lozinski in Lviv Collection of Lviv City Gallery

Information about author

Author: Sperandio of Mantua
Artist's lifetime: 1435–1520 (?)
Country: Italy
Biography: Sperandio of Mantua was a sculptor, painter, architect, and jeweller (1435–1520, according to other sources – 1425/28–1504). He was the most productive medalist in Italy in the 15th century (48 medals). Son of jeweller Bartolomeo di Sperandio Savelli. He spent his early years in Ferrara and worked in Venice, Milan, Faenza, and Padua. From 1478 to 1490, he worked in Bologna. According to research by Alberto Delitala (Canada), the medal depicts the 19-year-old Giovanni Bentivoglio when he was proclaimed Prince of Bologna (1463).

Object description

The work depicts Giovanni II Bentivoglio (Ioanes Benivolus), an Italian aristocrat who ruled Bologna as prince from 1463 to 1506. He had no official title but wielded power as the city's "first citizen". The Bentivoglio family ruled Bologna from 1443 and repeatedly attempted to consolidate their power over the city's Signoria. In the centre of the work is a profile portrait of the man, facing left. The man is depicted with long hair, wearing a tall, round cap with turned-up edges, a tight-fitting cloak, and a heavy chain around his neck. On the reverse two winged putti with belts on their shoulders hold a shield (in the shape of a horse's head) with the Bentivoglio coat of arms.

Inscriptions

Obverse: inscription "IOANES · BETIVOLVS · BO · NON · LIBERTATIS · PRlNCEPS ·" around the edge. Reverse: inscription "· OPVS · SPERANDEI" at the bottom. Inscriptions on the reverse: "40"; "№ С-ІІ-696 Львів ОКГ".

Portrayed person