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Medal of Cecilia Gonzaga
Pisanello (Antonio Pisano) Italian
Not on view
In the dreamlike nocturnal scene on the medal’s reverse, an outsize unicorn lies gently at the feet of a half-clad maiden. Thus Pisanello, one of the great artists of the Renaissance, embraces the medieval legend of the taming of the unicorn to create a poetic metaphor for the life of Cecilia Gonzaga, seen on the obverse. This beautiful princess of Mantua refused to marry, choosing instead to remain a maiden and serve as a nun of the Order of Saint Clare. The traditional theological association of the unicorn with Christ, therefore, has particular resonance here. The crescent moon is apparently a reference to the classical virgin goddess Diana.
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