Medallio
1776–1883
Medium
Plaster
Dimensions
Diam. 6 1/8 in. (15.6 cm)
Classification
Medallion
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of William H. Huntington, 1883
Accession Number
83.2.214
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in The American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, *Medallio* is a delicate plaster medallion crafted by Jean Martin Renaud between 1776 and 1883. Measuring just 6 1/8 inches in diameter, this intimate profile portrait captures the iconic visage of Benjamin Franklin, the polymath Founding Father whose likeness became a symbol of Enlightenment ideals and American independence. Gifted to the Museum by William H. Huntington in 1883, it evokes the era's fascination with classical portraiture, where small-scale reliefs like this served as affordable, reproducible tributes to great men....
About the Artist
Jean Martin Renaud (French) · 1746 –1821
French, Sarreguemines 1746–1821 Paris