Page 112 - The Lugdunum Auction 24

Reinhart‘s Opus Magnum

This medal is also a true masterpiece of medallic
Art, being the largest German Renaissance silver
medal ever crafted.
Here, Hans Reinhart the Elder has realized his
Opus Magnum. Not only had he mastered the ty-
pical high relief for which German Renaissance
medals are commonly known, he went even one
unconventional step further. Making this medal
a real tour de force.
By soldering miniature three-dimensional sculp-
tures onto the medal, like God the Father’s beard,
the crucifix or the dove of the Holy Spirit, a tech-
nique used for the first time ever by a medallist,
he succeeded in exceling medallic art. Making
the Trinity medal an almost three-dimensional
sculpture. A miniature, almost three-dimensional scupture

Inspired by Lucas Cranach the Elder

When we look at the beautiful way Reinhart has represented the Trinity on its medal, another
famous artist of the time comes to mind: Lucas Cranach the Elder.

Considered as one of the most if not the most important German painters of its time, Cranach the
Elder was not only a real inspiration to Reinhart, but also one of his acquaintances. And it is not
impossible to imagine that Cranach might even have been somehow involved in the conception of this
medal.

His painting of The Holy Trinity, now at the Mu-
seum of Fine Arts in Leipzig (Germany), perfect-
ly illustrates this idea: there you can see, as on the
Trinity Medal, God the Father with a flourishing
beard, wearing richly ornamented clothes and
a crown, as well as the Christ, the Holy Spirit
and winged cherub’s heads in the sky.
Although inspired by Lucas Cranach, Hans Rein-
hart has nevertheless made the Trinity Medal his
own masterpiece. While numerous iconogra-
phical elements used by the artist on this medal
can directly be linked to the Renaissance, like the
typical decoration of the throne and the symme-
trical disposition of the scene, the richness and
splendor of the attributes of God the Father and
the general impression of opulence, almost place
it at the forefront of the coming mannerism or
early Baroque art. Making the Trinity Medal an
important milestone in the thrilling history of
Cranach‘s Holy Trinity
Medallic art.

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