Elisabeth Grünenberger, born 1518, Wife of Johann Fichard 1539 (reverse) 1547

This bronze medal depicting Elisabeth Grünenberger, wife of Johann Fichard, was made by Hans Bolsterer in 1539. The format of the medal speaks to a culture of civic humanism that had spread through the German lands by the 16th century. Bolsterer's medal commemorates a specific individual, but it also testifies to the values of family and social role. The prominence given to Elisabeth's attire and the fine detail with which it is rendered suggest the importance of her domestic role in upholding social and economic life. We can read this medal as a kind of early form of social media, testifying to the values and status of its subject. But unlike today's forms of self-representation, here we are dependent on the skills and intentions of an artist working within a specific set of cultural constraints and artistic conventions. Through careful archival research, we can reconstruct the web of relations in which Elisabeth Grünenberger lived. By combining that knowledge with careful attention to the artistic conventions, we can understand how this image performed its social role.