Charles V (1500–1558)
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This portrait medal depicts Emperor Charles V at age forty-four, wearing the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece and holding the imperial orb and scepter. The high relief of the head and right hand and the protrusion of the scepter beyond the circular frame create an illusion of three-dimensionality rare in medallic art. Reinhart was one of the period’s finest medalists. The beautiful heraldic reverse demonstrates his virtuosity in the precise handling of detail.
Artwork Details
- Title: Charles V (1500–1558)
- Maker: Hans Reinhart the Elder (German, Dresden ca. 1510–1581 Leipzig)
- Date: 1544
- Culture: German
- Medium: Silver, cast
- Dimensions: Diameter: 2 9/16 in. (6.5 cm)
- Classification: Medals and Plaquettes
- Credit Line: Dr. Stephen K. and Janie Woo Scher Collection
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts