All Objects

Hercules is here identified by a club (his signature weapon), lion-skin cloak, and muscular appearance. He is large in proportion to his horse, emphasizing his physical strength. One of Hercules's best-known labors was his defeat of the Nemean lion. Here he slips his fingers into the mouth of the leonine trophy that he wears, a reference to illustrations of this episode that show Hercules besting his feline foe by prying apart the beast's jaws. Equestrian depictions of Hercules were unique to the Este family — rulers of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio — and this statuette was likely produced for Duke Ercole I d'Este, who promoted his association with his mythological namesake. The imagery of Hercules on Horseback is connected to Ercole's wedding to the princess of Naples or to a springtime festival during which Ercole rode throughout Ferrara in costume, bringing flowering branches to the city's most beautiful women.

Displayed together for the first time in modern history, Bertoldo's Shield Bearers seem to be mirror images. Both are nude — save for the vines encircling their bodies and the leaves crowning their heads — brandish shields, and wield clubs. They are, however, markedly distinct. The Frick Shield Bearer is younger and suppler, with small horns curling into the tousled locks above his forehead, as well as a swishing tail and set of panpipes that are revealed when the statuette is viewed from behind. The Liechtenstein figure is older and more muscular, with a full beard and none of his companion's fantastical appendages. Designed to engage viewers as they examined the statuettes, the figures present multivalent identities, combining the iconography of wild men (legendary forest dwellers who were covered in hair and unnaturally strong), fauns (half-goat, half-human woodland creatures), and Hercules (the hero of Greek myth).

The struggle of the hero Bellerophon to tame the winged horse Pegasus was a common subject of ancient texts and artworks, but Bertoldo's depiction was the first since antiquity. Following a classical ode, the sculptor captured the moment at which Bellerophon bends Pegasus to his will using an enchanted bridle. While the bridle is slung over the hero's left shoulder, the sculptor departed from the poem, in which Bellerophon subdues Pegasus by gently placing the charmed reins on the horse, instead transforming the episode into a violent contest between man and beast.

Bellerophon Taming Pegasus is the only statuette signed by Bertoldo. The surface under the base is inscribed, EXPRESSIT ME BERThOLDVS * CONFLAVIT HADRIANVS [Bertoldo modeled me; Adriano cast me]. Bertoldo created the wax original, then entrusted the bronze casting to his collaborator, Adriano Fiorentino. The Pazzi Conspiracy medal (also included in the exhibition) was similarly designed by Bertoldo but cast by another hand, indicating that this was standard practice for the sculptor.

This plaque is Bertoldo's only surviving depiction of the Virgin and Child. Its function is unknown, though the unfinished edges suggest that it was intended for display within a frame, possibly inset into the cover of a small chest or incorporated into a diptych or triptych. The upper portion of the figural composition — the Virgin and Child flanked by two angels — derives from a gilded bronze tondo by Donatello of about the same scale (ca. 1450; Victoria and Albert Museum, London). For this reason, the plaque may be dated to early in Bertoldo's career.

At the moment of his death, Christ slumps forward as his soul leaves his body, hanging crucified between the penitent and impenitent thieves. To his right, the saved thief is lifeless and resigned to his mortality. To his left, the damned thief thrashes against the ties that bind him, one foot and one hand already wrestled free. In drapery, expression, and animation, these figures embody three distinct states from life to death. Below, mourners react in varied ways to the Crucifixion. To the left, St. Jerome, clasping a crucifix and rock, and St. Francis, with flaming stigmata, accompany the swooning Mary, mother of Jesus. Mary Magdalene, standing at the base of the cross, laments dramatically, her garments swirling in agitation as she pulls out clumps of her hair in grief.

The Crucifixion originally decorated the palazzo of Lorenzo de' Medici, as did the Battle relief (also included in the exhibition).

Bertoldo's only dated medal commemorates Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III's visit to Rome to meet with Pope Paul II at the end of 1468. The obverse portrays the likeness of the emperor himself, wearing a fur-trimmed outfit and hat. The reverse depicts an event that took place on New Year's Day, 1469. After attending mass, Frederick proceeded to the bridge in front of Castel Sant'Angelo, where he bestowed a white horse upon the pope and knighted more than one hundred men, crowned a number of poets, and granted doctorates. On Bertoldo's medal, the emperor and pope can be observed on horseback at the center of the bridge, accompanied by four cardinals and flanked by figures on foot. Filippo de' Medici, Bertoldo's early patron, likely commissioned this medal as a gift for the emperor meant to advance his aspirations of becoming a cardinal. A portrait medal of Filippo designed by Bertoldo is included in the exhibition.

Filippo de' Medici, Archbishop of Pisa, was a distant relative of Lorenzo de' Medici. This medal, celebrating his piety and position, may have been intended to promote Filippo's aspirations to become a cardinal. Filippo is shown tonsured, facing left, and wearing a rochet. On either side of him is a cord with five tassels, the attributes of an archbishop. The cords are intertwined with a scroll, on which is inscribed Filippo's motto, VIRTVTE SVPERA [By Higher Virtue]. The reverse illustrates the Last Judgment in two parts above the corresponding text taken from the Old Testament. In the upper section, the judging Christ presides in a mandorla, surrounded by angels, some of whom hold the instruments of the Passion, including the cross and column of the flagellation. Below, the resurrected emerge from their graves and are either lifted up to heaven or cast into the mouth of hell by the two angels standing at the center.

Unlike any other Renaissance example, the Pazzi Conspiracy medal collapses the traditional obverse and reverse, fusing the portraits, allegorical figures, and historical narrative. The medal commemorates the attempted coup led by the Pazzi family against the Medici brothers in April 1478. Each side shows one brother's bust hovering above a bird's-eye view of the attack in the Florentine cathedral, depicted in a continuous narrative. On Lorenzo's side, a priest leads mass within the octagonal choir. In the right foreground, Lorenzo — identifiable by his hat and swishing cloak — defends himself from conspirators not once but twice before fleeing the danger through the choir, resulting in the SALVS PVBLICA [public safety] achieved for Florence. On the reverse, the scene is observed from the other side of the choir. In the left foreground, Giuliano, wearing a long cloak, is accosted before collapsing on the floor to the right, where he is stabbed to death, leading to the LVCTVS PVBLICVS [public mourning] felt as the result of his martyrdom.

This medal, the largest produced by Bertoldo, is the only one signed by the sculptor and was likely commissioned by Lorenzo as a gift for the Sultan Mehmed II in gratitude for Mehmed's extradition of one of the murderers of his brother. Known as "the Conqueror" for toppling the Byzantine Empire, Mehmed was captivated by western art and requested that artists from Florence and Venice be sent to him. As a result, Gentile Bellini produced a medal of the sultan that subsequently became the basis for Bertoldo's own. The features of Mehmed on Bertoldo's medal are copied from Bellini's, but Bertoldo added the Ottoman half-moon medallion worn by the sitter. The reverse also reflects Bellini's medal, which depicts three crowns symbolizing Mehmed's annexation of Greece, Trebizond, and Constantinople. Bertoldo developed this theme by envisioning a chariot guided by Mars, the god of war, with Mehmed himself standing triumphantly atop it. In his right hand, the sultan holds a rope encircling three nude females, personifications of Mehmed's three major conquests.

The Venetian Antonio Graziadei was a Franciscan friar celebrated for his study of astrology, but Bertoldo's medal identifies him as an imperial ambassador, a position he held in Florence in 1480. Graziadei moved in the circles of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III, whose medal by Bertoldo (also included in the exhibition) perhaps inspired Graziadei to commission his own. The reverse celebrates Graziadei's political role. Holding the caduceus and playing a pipe, Mercury — god of eloquence and messenger of the gods — stands on a cart accompanied by the nine Muses, indicating how the arts complement the diplomatic skills of Graziadei. Above, the goddess Diana holds a crescent moon, and Apollo drives his chariot. The cart is pulled by a lion ridden by a female with a trumpet, representing fame. The triumphal scene and inscriptions glorify Graziadei's ambassadorial role, yet the representations of Mercury, Diana, Apollo, and the stars adorning the cart may be linked to Graziadei's astrological erudition.

These two specimens are the only known examples of this rare medal that is also Bertoldo's sole depiction of a female sitter. The Venetian lady is seen in a low-cut bodice and flanked by blooming branches. On the reverse, a triumphal scene celebrates her virtue. Two rearing unicorns, fantastical beasts associated with virginity, pull a cart led by a young boy and pushed by a winged putto. Atop the chariot, on the left, is a seated woman with billowing drapery, likely Letizia herself. The female figure guiding the unicorns is therefore a personification of chastity. A winged, blindfolded Cupid appears between them, conquered by the two women. Above, another female descends, bringing a leafy branch to Letizia. Two putti below hold a tablet heralding Letizia as DECVS / M V [The glory of the women of Venice]. The decoration underneath is the Sanudo family's coat of arms.

This sculpture was probably intended for display in an elevated niche, the figure supporting a cross and with a garment covering his genitals. When viewed from below, the blood drawn from beating the stone against his chest would have been more visible. Although the sculpture has been attributed to Donatello since the sixteenth century, scholars beginning in the late nineteenth century have expressed doubts about its authorship. The physical makeup (composed of wood and heavily modeled in gesso) and certain aspects of the sculpture's form are similar to sculptures by Donatello. The pose, however, and other details are similar to sculptures by Bertoldo, such as the Supplicant (also included in the exhibition). Donatello — who had ties to the city of Faenza, where the sculpture has been since its creation — may have begun the sculpture toward the end of his life and left it to Bertoldo to execute. This seems to have also occurred in other works, like Donatello's bronze pulpits for San Lorenzo, Florence.