Peter Flötner (German, Nuremberg, ca. 1485–1546)
Bronze
Charity: 3 x 2 in. (7.6 x 5.1 cm), Temperance: 3 3/16 x 2 1/16 in. (8.1 x 5.2 cm)
Gift of Ogden Mills, 1926: Charity (26.14.13)
The Erich Lederer Collection, Gift of Mrs. Erich Lederer, 1986: Temperance (1986.319.43)
Much like medals (Carchesius, 17.190.487), the durability of cast metal plaquettes made them a perfect medium for capturing images. Peter Flötner created numerous models for metal plaquettes, which could be cast relatively easily, reproduced, and widely distributed. His ornamental and figural compositions and detailed landscapes became treasured collector's items and a major source for craftsmen all over Europe. Such plaquettes played an important role in the dissemination of the German interpretation of the High Renaissance style. These two exemplars are part of a series of the seven Cardinal Virtues that can be attributed to Flötner.
