|
|
|
The are no messages in your guestbook.
|
|
|
About 16th Century Visual Artists
|
16th Century Visual Artists
There are a number of mid-16th century portrait medals of Pope Paul III exhibiting a similar obverse with minor variations and a reverse that is completely different. While some medals created date from while he was living, others are posthumous. Adding to the challenge of dating medals of him is that his age and appearance vary markedly within several years. This can be due to artistic license, less talented artists not portraying him accurately as well as the poor production of a medal with reduced detail.
The following prominent artists/sculptors/medalists were working during the mid-16th century, some of whom were in Rome. This list will be expanded. What stands out is that none of the artists other than Michelangelo could have created the Michelangelo Buonarroti Pope Paul III/Griffin medal.
Michelangelo Buonarroti - Pope Paul III obverse and Griffin reverse gilt bronze looks like Michelangelo's art. The superiority of this medal is light years beyond any other medal created during this period. The high caliber is reflected in its masterful handling of formal elements, exceptional technical execution and monumentality. There are no weak areas within the medal that are typically present in art by less talented artists.
Titian - A brilliant artist and one of the greatest portrait painters of the day. Pope Paul required the greatest artists create portraits of him and this is why he had Titian paint his portrait and Michelangelo sculpt his Pope Paul III/Griffin reverse gilt bronze medal.
An Unknown Artist - This is included because what is the possibility that an unknown artist emerges from nowhere at a specific time to create the greatest medal of the era and then disappears never to create another medal anything like it again all while having access to the pope and at a time when artists were celebrated. The possibility of this occurring is zero. The same goes for far less talented artists of which there were many when compared to Michelangelo. The medal created by Michelangelo required tremendous artistic ability and knowledge.
Alessandro Cesati - One of the medals attributed to him has an obverse of Pope Paul III and a reverse of Ganymede. The medal was mass produced and while dates on the medal indicate that Pope Paul III was living, the medals may actually have been produced after his death in 1549. A nude male youth on the reverse of a papal medal is rather curious and while the obverse is a tribute to Pope Paul III the reverse may be a tribute to Michelangelo as his love of the beauty of youth and the male nude was known.
AM
| Contact Me: |
Everyone can contact me |
|
16th Century Visual Artists' Friends
|
|
|
