Maximilien de Bethune, hertog van Sully 1925 - 1935

This is a bronze medal of Maximilien de Bethune, Duke of Sully, made by Guillaume Dupré sometime between the late 16th and early 17th century. There’s something about these medals that feels so intimate. I mean, it’s small, only about 4cm across, but the amount of detail Dupré was able to fit in is mind-blowing. Look at the Duke’s face, you can almost feel the texture of his skin, the way the light catches the curls of his beard. And then there’s his elaborate ruff and armor, the folds and creases, the way the metal seems to glint. It’s like Dupré is trying to capture not just what the Duke looked like, but who he was, his power, his status, his personality. On the reverse, we see a landscape with mountains, a bridge, buildings, and a bird carrying a branch. It’s kind of amazing to think about all the decisions that went into this one little object, the way it condenses so much skill and thought into a small, portable form. I think of the medals of Pisanello, Donatello, these forms of expressing status and power through imagery. It reminds us that art is really just an ongoing conversation, a way of seeing and thinking that evolves over time.