Portrait medal of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (obverse); Il Gesù (reverse)

Giovanni V. Melon

1575 · Bronze (Copper alloy with a warm brown patina). · Robert Lehman Collection

At the age of fourteen, Alessandro Farnese was appointed Cardinal Deacon by his grandfather Pope Paul III. Amassing great wealth in the service of several popes, Farnese built or restored many monuments in and around Rome and assembled the greatest collection of Roman sculpture since antiquity. He was also a patron of living artists, notably El Greco, and his holdings included coins, medals, and drawings. The reverse depicts the facade of the Roman church, Il Gesù, a project financed by Farnese. Work began in 1568, but the façade was not completed until 1577, two years after the making of this medal. The medal also commemorates the Holy Year of 1575, during which the unfinished church played an important role in celebrations.

Artist

Giovanni V. Melon

Date

1575

Medium

Bronze (Copper alloy with a warm brown patina).

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975