Isabella d'Este – one of the most significant female art patrons in the Renaissance and her portrait medal
It's not just Marco Polo who celebrates a milestone birthday in 2024, but also one of the most important patrons of the arts of the early modern era: Isabella d'Este, Duchess of Mantua, was born on 18 May 1474, 550 years ago.
In the permanent exhibition of the Vienna Coin Cabinet, a particularly elaborately designed example of a ceremonial medal is on display in its own showcase, which, with precious diamonds and red enamelled rosettes in between, is one of the highlights of the collection: The Medal of Honour of Isabella d'Este (1474-1539).
Isabella was married to Francesco II Gonzaga in 1490 when she was just 16 years old. As a result, she lived in Mantua and tried not only to establish the court as an art centre, but also to obtain works for her own art collection from the best and most famous artists of her time. She also had her own studiolo, or grotta, which she had artistically and lavishly decorated. As an art-loving princess, she also took up the fashionable trend for portrait medals and had a magnificent example produced, which is considered an example of early Northern Italian medals.
The sculptor and medallist Giancristoforo Romano (1456-1512), whom she is said to have met and appreciated during a visit to the court of the Sforza family in Milan, was commissioned to produce it. He was important and well-known there as a connoisseur of antiquities and a singer, as well as a "courtier" in general. In 1497, she called him to Mantua, where he remained in her service until 1505.
The portrait on the obverse of the approximately 69 mm gold medal is probably the earliest surviving authentic bust portrait of Isabella, who was just over 20 years old at the time. What is striking about the portrait, which is not placed in the centre, is the hairstyle. The hair on her head is held together by a braided strand of hair, but ends in two loose curls above her neck. This could be a reminiscence of the laurel wreath with the overlying ribbons - tied at the nape of the neck - familiar from the portraits of emperors on ancient coins. The neck is adorned with a pearl necklace, and the base of the clothing is only recognisable in better casts. The reverse shows a winged female figure with a staff or sceptre and palm branch. A snake rises up in front of her legs and the zodiac sign Sagittarius (Sagittarius) and a star can be seen above her head. Because of its various attributes, the figure has been interpreted alternately as the personification of astrology, Salus, Victoria or Minerva. In the aforementioned inventory, she is labelled as Victoria. The depiction of Sagittarius cannot be clearly interpreted, as she was not born under this zodiac sign. One possibility would be that the constellation can be interpreted as a symbol of strength and leadership.
Sources show that the precious gold and enamel medal was already known and described in 1498. Isabella d'Este presented it to friends and poets in her circle of artists in the form of bronze replicas in honour of literary and artistic achievements. The example shown here has been in the imperial collection in Vienna since 1775. This splendid example with its precious decorations differs in detail from the bronze replicas.
Her acquaintance with the most important artists of her time, including Leonardo da Vinci, Andrea Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini, Titian and Raphael, and the almost 25,000 letters and correspondence she preserved, make her important in her role as a Renaissance noblewoman. As one of the most important patrons of the arts in history from today's perspective, she made the Mantuan court a centre for numerous scholars and artists of her time. Isabella had herself portrayed twice by Titian in the 1530s: at her then real age of 60 - the painting is only preserved in a copy by Rubens - and greatly rejuvenated and idealised, as an elegant figure who also set the tone in fashion, in keeping with her status at court.
