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Medal of Cecilia Gonzaga

1447
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
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.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Medal of Cecilia Gonzaga
  • Artist: Pisanello (Antonio Pisano) (Italian, Pisa or Verona by 1395–1455)
  • Date: 1447
  • Culture: Italian (Mantua)
  • Medium: Copper alloy
  • Dimensions: Overall: 3 5/16 in. (8.4 cm)
  • Classification: Medals and Plaquettes
  • Credit Line: Dr. Stephen K. and Janie Woo Scher Collection
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters