POMEDELLI, Giovanni Maria

(b. ~1478 Villafranca di Verona, d. 1537 )

Italian painter, engraver, goldsmith and medalist. Probably born in Villafranca, near Verona, he was a son of Antonio di Bartolomeo. He received a substantial inheritance from his uncle in 1518 but continued to work in the arts and live in Verona. His earliest dated medal is of 1519, but he appears to have produced medals between 1511 and 1530. He signed thirteen medals and a further two medals are attributed to him. Although these latter two portray Emperor Charles V and François I, King of France, Pomedelli is not believed to have traveled outside Italy, so that the portraits must have been derived from secondary sources.

Allegory of Quietude

This allegory depicts a naked woman lying down resting on her right arm, at the right is a boar pierced by an arrow, below is a greyhound, at left a porcupine, set within a landscape. The scene shows the rest after the hunt.

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Portrait medal of Charles V

The overse of this medal portrays Charles V (1500-1558), King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor. On the reverse Genius Writing on a Shield.

Pomedelli’s medal portraits are individual, and his reverses are a charming mixture of original sculptural composition and pretty plagiarism. He indicated his authorship of medals by both signing them and using a symbol composed of an apple (a reference to his family name and coat-of-arms, which included six apples), a monogram of ZUAN, and his punch and graver.

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