Fritz Reuter, 1810-1874, Writer [obverse] 1924

Karl Goetz made this bronze medal of Fritz Reuter, the writer, sometime in the first half of the 20th Century. Look closely at the way Goetz meticulously worked the surface, building up the form in such low relief. It makes you wonder how he used the tools. I really like how the texture is so detailed and yet contained, as if Goetz wanted to trap a little piece of the world in this small, round space. The metal has a warm, brownish color, like old photographs, and the way the light catches the raised parts makes Reuter’s face seem to come alive, as if he could start talking any minute. I’m drawn to the area around his beard, where the texture becomes quite free and expressive. It reminds me a little bit of the portrait medals of Pisanello from the Renaissance. It's interesting to think of the long history and conversation around portraiture. Art's like that, a continuous loop, always bringing the past into the present.