Identifier: italiamedal00fabri (find matches)
Title: Italian medals
Year: 1904 (1900s)
Authors: Fabriczy, Cornelius von, 1839-1910
Subjects: Medals Medals, Renaissance Renaissance
Publisher: London : Duckworth
Contributing Library: Getty Research Institute
Digitizing Sponsor: Getty Research Institute

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omeoColleoni, a no less celebrated military hero; he was, more-over, one of the earliest dramatic poets of Italy, and so accom-plished a courtier that the highly cultured Marchioness IsabellaGonzaga was able to describe him as *piu atilato et de rimeet cortesie erudito cavagliere et barone che si ritrovasse inItalia. Here for once the reverse shows a pleasing realism,and is a skilful circular composition ; and its interpretation asan illustration of the biblical inscription round it (Ps. Ixxxv. 13)is unconstrained. After a passing sojourn at Faenza we find Sperandio in1478 at Bologna, which he did not leave again until 1495.Here he produced important works of sculpture (the Tomb ofAlexander V., busts of Bentivoglio, Sanuti, Barbazza, decora-tions of the Church of La Santa); and the fact that from1486-1488 he was obliged to depend for support on the publicalms-box seems the more inexplicable. One of the earliest of the fifteen medals which he produced in Bologna (before 90 Platti XVIII
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SPERANDIO Face i>. 90 The Medallists of Venice^ etc» 1482) is that of Federigo Montefeltre, Duke of Urbino(PI. XVII., 6), the model of an enlightened ruler, inspired withthe noblest and highest ideals. This medal it was whichchiefly betrayed Goethe into his exaggerated panegyric on themaster. It is, indeed, one of Sperandios greatest achieve-ments ; unfortunately the equestrian figure on the reverse isbadly proportioned and unsuccessfully adapted to the circularfield. The portrait of the world-renowned Professor of Law,Andrea Barbazza (died 1480), is worthy of the master, althoughin the hand, half amputated by the truncation of the bust andhanging in the armhole of the gown, we notice the naturalisticdegeneration of composition in relief (PI. XVIII., 2). Irre-proachable, however, is the portrait of the powerful adherentof the Bentivoglio, Count Carlo Grati (PI. XVIII., 3); true,with the limitations already specified as regards the design ofthe reverse. Sperandio returned to his na

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