Lot 189: [ ITALIAN MEDALS ]

FRANCESCO DA SANGALLO (1494-1576) Paolo Giovio (1483-1552), writer and historian, Bishop of Nocera, 1528, bronze memorial medal, 1552, PAVLVS IOVIVS COMENSIS EPISCOPVS NVCERINVS A D N S M D LII, bearded bust left, wearing cap and coat with fur collar, rev., NVNC DENIQVE VIVES, Giovio standing, raising a nude young man from the ground, 96mm (Attwood 795; Armand I, 156, 1; Toderi/Vannel 1418; Bargello 309; Johnson II, 89), a very fine contemporary cast with dark patina

Francesco da Sangallo was primarily a sculptor and architect who produced a small number of large scale medals including a self-portrait (Scher 65). The monumentality of his work recalls the fifteenth century, rather than the sixteenth. His signature is sometimes found incised on the truncation, as is the case on the example of this medal in the British Museum. Attwood saw the reverse as reflecting Giovio's ability as a historian to bring the dead back to life.