Renaissance Portrait Medals

This exhibition is the first to present the Robert Lehman Collection's portrait medals. The selection on view features 30 Italian and Northern European bronze medals, ranging from early examples of the mid-15th-century to rare 17th-century wax models. Combining masterful portraits of rulers, dignitaries, and literary figures on one side, and rich, symbolic imagery on the other, medals were the ideal vehicle for immortalizing and disseminating one's achievements. 

The exhibition, which explores the development and role of the portrait medal in Renaissance culture, as well as production techniques, celebrates the recently published catalogue of the Lehman Collection's holdings of European sculpture and metalwork.

Exhibition overview from museum website