Portrait medal of Giovanni Giovano Pontano

Adriano Fiorentino (Adriano di Giovanni de' Maestri) Italian

Not on view

Giovanni Gioviano Pontano was a humanist and prolific writer in Latin. He was also an educator at the royal house of Aragon in Naples, where he served as tutor to Ferdinand II and secretary to his mother, Ippolita Sforza. Pontano later turned against his Aragonese patrons in writings endorsing their enemy, Louis XII of France.
The medal's reverse shows the personifcation of Urania holding a lyre and a starry globe, an allusion to a poem by Pontano.

Portrait medal of Giovanni Giovano Pontano, Adriano Fiorentino (Adriano di Giovanni de' Maestri) (Italian, Florence (?) born ca. 1450–60, died 1499 Florence), Bronze (Copper alloy with brown patina and remnants of black lacquer or wax).

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.

Portrait medal of Giovanni Giovano Pontano, Adriano Fiorentino (Adriano di Giovanni de' Maestri) (Italian, Florence (?) born ca. 1450–60, died 1499 Florence), Bronze (Copper alloy with brown patina and remnants of black lacquer or wax).
Portrait medal of Giovanni Giovano Pontano, Adriano Fiorentino (Adriano di Giovanni de' Maestri) (Italian, Florence (?) born ca. 1450–60, died 1499 Florence), Bronze (Copper alloy with brown patina and remnants of black lacquer or wax).
Portrait medal of Giovanni Giovano Pontano, Adriano Fiorentino (Adriano di Giovanni de' Maestri) (Italian, Florence (?) born ca. 1450–60, died 1499 Florence), Bronze (Copper alloy with brown patina and remnants of black lacquer or wax).
Portrait medal of Giovanni Giovano Pontano, Adriano Fiorentino (Adriano di Giovanni de' Maestri) (Italian, Florence (?) born ca. 1450–60, died 1499 Florence), Bronze (Copper alloy with brown patina and remnants of black lacquer or wax).

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.