Francesco Diedo [obverse] 1475

Bertoldo di Giovanni created this bronze portrait medal of Francesco Diedo in Florence during the late fifteenth century. Such portrait medals took inspiration from ancient coins, and became fashionable ways for elites to commemorate themselves, and to circulate their image amongst their peers. This medal is a potent marker of status. We see Diedo in profile, richly dressed, and the Latin inscription labels him as a man of letters. Florence was a republic, but also a society deeply invested in status and hierarchy, and art was one of the key ways this was expressed and reinforced. What makes this object so interesting to the historian is the way it straddles the classical past and the Renaissance present. The medal emulates the portrait coins of the Roman Empire. It also anticipates the modern commemorative medal. By studying objects such as this, and the social conditions that gave rise to them, we get a glimpse into the political and cultural values of Renaissance society.