Ludovico III Gonzaga
by PISANELLO, Bronze, diameter 10 cm
The obverse of this medal shows Ludovico III Gonzaga (1414-1478), 2nd Marquess of Mantua, while the reverse depicts Ludovico Riding in Armour. The medal was commissioned from Pisanello by Ludovico at about the same time when he commissioned posthumously a medal of his father, Gianfrancesco Gonzaga, depicting him as a military commander on horseback. The reverse of his own medal bears a strikingly similar equestrian image reinforcing the notion that the chivalric ideals of honour and glory had passed seamlessly from father to son.