Barbara d'Este of Austria 1565

Pastorino de Pastorini created this bronze medal of Barbara d'Este of Austria sometime in the 16th century. Medals such as this one served as portable, reproducible portraits that circulated amongst elites in Renaissance Europe. The portrait shows Barbara in profile, adorned with elaborate jewels and clothing that signify her status. As a member of the Este family, rulers of Ferrara, and through her marriage into the Austrian Habsburgs, Barbara occupied a crucial position within the dynastic politics of the Italian Renaissance. The medal speaks to the importance of lineage and the role of women in solidifying political alliances through marriage. These medals can be understood within the institutional history of Renaissance courts, where humanist scholars and artists collaborated to create visual languages of power and prestige. To understand this piece further, one might consult genealogical records or examine the visual rhetoric of other courtly portraits of the time. The meaning of art like this is always contingent on social context.