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Portrait medal of Giovanni Alvise Toscani

ca. 1475 (possibly cast early 16th century)
Not on view
Milanese by birth, Giovanni Alvise Toscani was a lawyer, orator, and Latin poet. He began his career under Francesco I Sforza, Duke of Milan, before going to Rome in 1468, where he became advocate to the assembly of cardinals and auditor under Pope Sixtus IV. Lysippus made six medals of Toscani, indicating their close friendship; this example is the largest and finest.
The reverse contains a laudatory inscription surrounded by a laurel wreath: PREVENIT AETATEM INGENIVM PRECOX (His precocious genius runs ahead of his age).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portrait medal of Giovanni Alvise Toscani
  • Artist: Lysippus the Younger (Italian, active Rome, ca. 1470–84)
  • Date: ca. 1475 (possibly cast early 16th century)
  • Medium: Bronze (copper alloy with a warm brown patina)
  • Dimensions: Diam. 7.3 cm, wt. 107.3 g.
  • Classification: Medals
  • Credit Line: Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.1.1281
  • Curatorial Department: The Robert Lehman Collection

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Giovanni Aloisius Toscani, Lysippus the Younger Italian, Bronze, Italian
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Giovanni Alvise Toscani ca 1450–1478, Lysippus the Younger Italian, Bronze, Italian
Giovanni Alvise Toscani ca 1450–1478
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Pope Sixtus IV (Francesco della Rovere, 1414–1484), Lysippus the Younger Italian, Bronze, Italian, Rome
Pope Sixtus IV (Francesco della Rovere, 1414–1484)
Lysippus the Younger
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Medal: Sixtus IV, Lysippus the Younger, Bronze (Copper alloy with warm brown patina and remnants of black wax or lacquer)
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Medal: Sixtus IV, Lysippus the Younger, Silver
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