Bowdoin College Museum of Art | - John VIII Paleologus (1392–1448), Emperor of Constantinople 1425

Preview image of work. bronze, John VIII Paleologus (1392–1448), Emperor of Constantinople 1425–1448 6273

1966.106.24.a

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John VIII Paleologus (1392–1448), Emperor of Constantinople 1425–1448

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Artist

Antonio Di Puccio Pisano (Pisanello) (1395 - 1455)

Title

John VIII Paleologus (1392–1448), Emperor of Constantinople 1425–1448

Creation Date

ca. 1438 (aftercast)

Century

mid-15th century

Dimensions

3 7/8 in. (9.84 cm)

Classification

Medals/Plaquettes

Creation Place

Europe, Italy

Medium and Support

bronze

Credit Line

Gift of Amanda Marchesa Molinari

Copyright

Public Domain

Accession Number

1966.106.24.a

Pisanello, a trained painter, combined his interest in classical coins with portraiture to produce a medium that is durable, portable, and easily reproducible: the portrait medal. As noted in the neighboring label, he cast the first modern portrait medal about 1438 to commemorate Byzantine Emperor John VIII Paleologus’s participation in the Council of Ferrara (later moved to Florence). Pisanello’s highly influential work ignited the fashion for portrait medals, and his masterful profile view of Paleologus’s face influenced future painters, sculptors, and medalists alike. This bronze specimen, likely an aftercast from the same mold as the lead specimen (See 04.01), shows a refinement in its reproduction and includes the reverse design originally absent from the lead specimen.