SPERANDIO SAVELLI

Francesco Gonzaga (1444-1483) was the second son of Ludovico III, the second marquess of Mantua. He received the red hat of a cardinal in 1462. He would be the first of nine cardinals in the Gonzaga family, which, however, never achieved a papal tiara.

Mantegna represented Francesco as a young ecclesiastic, and once again in the Meeting scene in the Camera degli Sposi in Mantua, where he is probably in his early twenties. Finally, on the obverse of Sperandio’s medal, Francesco is shown about the time of his death at the age of thirty-nine.

The legend on the obverse reads: Francesco Gonzaga, Cardinal of Mantua, splendour of liberality and of the Roman Church. This could refer to both his spiritual and his temporal attributes: to his lavish lifestyle as a collector of art and antiques, patron of literature, and connoisseur of music and to his generosity toward the poor as well as his devotion to the Virgin Mary.

The reverse refers to Francesco’s political and military activities, but its imagery is somewhat obscure.

The authorship of Sperandio is not universally accepted because the work so little resembles his only signed portrait relief and a related portrait bust, both of which show Ercole I d’Este. Sperandio was employed as a sculptor and medalist by a succession of Este rulers between 1445 and 1477.

The present marble relief of Eleonora of Aragon (1450-1493), duchess of Ferrara, is remarkable for its small scale and the shallowness of the carving.

The present portrait was one of a pair of portrait busts carved in 1475 by Sperandio to decorate the Porta del Barco, the entrance to a large hunting preserve north of Ferrara. It shows Duke Ercole I wearing a conical beret and jousting armour. Despite the damage to the nose and chin, the portrait is the finest surviving sculpture Sperandio.

Ercole I d’Este (1431-1505) was the half brother of Leonello and Borso d’Este. He became the ruler of the duchy of Ferrara in 1471. He reigned for thirty-four years, surviving both an attempted coup by Leonello’s son Niccolò, whom Ercole had ordered beheaded, and a disastrous war with Venice (1482-84) that reduced the territory of his state. In 1473 he married with great pomp the daughter of Ferrante of Aragon. Ercole and his duchess, Eleonora, were known as much for their acts of public piety as for the lavish lifestyle they maintained. Ercole left an enduring mark on Ferrara. He undertook and ambitious urban project, in which he doubled the size of Ferrara and endowed it with broad streets and a series of palaces and churches as well as country residences. Under his rule Ferrara became a leading centre of music, attracting the great Franco-Flemish composer Josquin des Desprez.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 7 minutes):

Josquin Desprez: In principio erat verbum, motet

There are eight known medals by different artists of Federico da Montefeltro (1422-1482), the condottiere-ruler of the duchy of Urbino. Sperandio’s medal has been thought posthumous because of the epithet ‘divus’ (divine) employed in the inscription. This epithet was conferred on Julius Caesar following his death. The reverse shows Federico in armour, mounted on a caparisoned horse bearing one of his devices.

Giovanni II Bentivoglio (1443-1508) was the ruler of the city-republic of Bologna. In his strategies for self-promotion, he followed the example of the northern Italian courts, Namely Milan and Ferrara, striving to demonstrate his “magnificenza’ through numerous projects. He pressed ahead with numerous religious donations, such as the Oratory of St Cecilia, and the family chapel in San Giacomo Maggiore, which was richly decorated with paintings and sculptures. As part of his self-presentation, likenesses of Giovanni and of the Bentivoglio family occupied a prominent place; along with numerous medals bearing his head, as many as three painted portraits of Giovanni survive.

Sperandio created a total of three medals that bear Giovanni II Bentivoglio’s likeness, the present medal is the final one in this series. The obverse of this medal shows a profile bust, in armour, facing right. His hair is in a style typical in northern Italy at the end of the fifteenth century. On the reverse he is shown in armour and on horseback, riding toward the left and holding the commander’s baton. The richly decorated horse blanket is emblazoned with the Bentivoglio family crest.

Francesco Gonzaga (1444-1483) was the son of Ludovico. He was made a cardinal, the first of many in the family to become a prince of the Church.

The reverse of the medal, depicting Cardinal Francesco Gonzaga in profile, refers to Francesco’s political and military activities, but its imagery is somewhat obscure.