Ippolita as Diana with Hunting Dogs in a Landscape with Pluto and Cerberus [reverse]

Art Historical Context

Crafted in 1551 by the Italian sculptor and medallist Leoni, this bronze medal (6.8 cm in diameter) showcases the reverse side featuring "Ippolita as with Hunting Dogs in a with Pluto and Cerber." Leoni, a master of portrait medals, often blended classical mythology with portraiture, making these small-scale sculptures prized collectibles among Europe's elite. The intricate scene depicts Ippol—likely a noble patron—transformed into the huntress goddess Diana, surrounded by loyal hounds in a lush landscape. In the background, Pluto, god of the underworld, appears with the fearsome three-headed Cerberus, evoking themes of mythology, power, and the natural world. Leoni's virtuoso bronze casting technique captures fine details, from rippling fur to distant figures, highlighting the era's fascination with antiquity and humanism during the Renaissance. Weighing just 95.47 grams, this intimate artwork exemplifies the medal's role as portable art, gifted to the National Gallery of Art by The Circle. It invites visitors to ponder the interplay of divine allegory and personal identity in 16th-century Italy.

About the Artist

Leone Leoni · 1504–1590

Leone Leoni (1504–1590) was an Italian sculptor and medalist who rose to become one of the most celebrated court artists of sixteenth-century Europe, serving emperors, kings, and popes with equal distinction. Born in Menaggio on Lake Como, he trained as a goldsmith and medallist, skills that brought him to the attention of powerful patrons at a time when the portrait medal was one of the most pres...