Page 45 - The Lugdunum Auction 24

A masterpiece of Renaissance medallic art attributed
to Niccolò Fiorentino (1430-1514)

This impressive bronze medal was crafted somew-
here around 1485 to commemorate one of the most
important humanists of the Renaissance: Giovanni
Pico della Mirandola. It is attributed to the Florentine
medallist Niccolò di Forzore Spinelli, better known
as Niccolò Fiorentino, whose medals are commonly
considered as the finest medallic achievements of the
Italian Quattrocento.
Born on 24th of February 1463 in Mirandola (Ita-
ly), Pico was regarded as the most knowledgeable
man on earth by its contemporaries and is now even
considered by numerous scholars as the founder of
humanism.
Already an exceptional speaker and poet at the age
of 10, he started to study Law at 14 and was able to
speak and read not less than 22 languages at the age
of 18. At the time of the production of this medal,
Pico had started the most important project of his Possible portrait of Giovanni Pico della
life: the redaction of his 900 Theses. Mirandola (1463-1494)

This work compiled his views on all known doctrines and philosophical knowledge from both
Western and Eastern cultures, with the aim to form the basis for a large congress of scholars, coming
from all parts of the world, and against which Pico would defend each of his 900 theses.
Sadly, this congress never took place, as Pope Innocent VIII halted its holding and eventually condemned
all Pico’s theses, leading to his excommunication, the confiscation and destruction of all copies of his book
and the settling of Pico della Mirandola in Florence where he received the protection of the Medici family.
Under the protection of Lorenzo the
Magnificent

Lorenzo the Magnificent was, since 1469, the ruler
of the Republic of Florence as well as the head of the
Medici Bank.

In permanent conflicts with rival Florentine families,
he survived the famous Pazzi Conspiracy, an assassi-
nation attempt that took place on 26th of April 1478,
during High Mass at the Duomo of Florence, where
Lorenzo and his younger brother Giuliano were
attacked by members of the rival Pazzi family.
Lorenzo the Magnificent is also considered as the
most powerful and important patron of Renaissance
culture. Among the numerous artists that excelled
under his patronage, he is well known for his spon-
sorship of Botticelli and Michelangelo whose
Lorenzo the Magnificent as a Patron of art masterpieces have shaped art for centuries.
(1449-1492)

It is quite interesting to note, that Botticelli’s masterpieces the Primavera and The Birth of Venus, consi-
dered as some of the most famous and most frequently reproduced works of Western art, were created
around the same time as this medal.

45