Medal Depicting Margherita de' Medici (1612–1662)

Art Historical Context

This exquisite medal, crafted by the Italian engraver and medallist Antonio Francesco Selvi in 1739, honors Margherita de' Medici (1612–1662), a prominent member of the illustrious Medici family of Florence. Margherita, daughter of Grand Duke Cosimo II, married Odoardo Farnese, becoming Duchess of Parma and Piacenza. Created over seven decades after her death, the piece likely serves as a posthumous tribute, reflecting the enduring prestige of the Medici dynasty during the height of Baroque portraiture. Selvi, renowned for his intricate bronze and precious metal medals, here employs an unusual medium of lead combined with wax, measuring just 8.3 cm in diameter. Lead provided a malleable base for detailed casting, allowing fine relief portraits and inscriptions, while wax may have been used for impressions or added luster, showcasing innovative techniques in 18th-century medal-making. Such small-scale sculptures were prized collectibles among European nobility, blending sculpture's tactility with numismatic precision. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Department of Painting and Sculpture of Europe, this medal exemplifies the cultural role of portrait medals as portable emblems of power and legacy, inviting visitors to ponder the Medici's lasting influence on Renaissance and Baroque art.

About the Artist

Antonio Francesco Selvi · 1679–1755

Antonio Francesco Selvi (1679–1753) was a prominent Florentine sculptor and medallist whose exquisite bronze portraits captured the elegance of late Baroque Italy. Little is known of his early life before he arrived in Florence in 1698, but he quickly established himself in the city's vibrant artistic scene by studying under Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi, the renowned bronze-worker, sculptor, medalli...