Architecture and numismatics: imitation and innovation

On the reverse side of this medal we can also see the new Saint Peter’s basilica in Rome, or at least as envisioned by Donato Bramante. The church depicted on the medal was never built; to this day, it has remained a mere design. Depicting architecture on medals was a very common practice on papal and other Renaissance medals (fig. 5-6). By visualizing these important buildings, the beholders of the medals were reminded who to thank for the specific building.

This way of commemorating the achievements of specific individuals through the medium of coinage is a direct imitation of the same practice on Roman coinage. However, there is a small difference compared to the Roman tradition of depicting architecture on coins. Roman mint magistrates and later emperors would depict buildings that had, in most cases, already been built by them as a form of commemoration. This medal does something quite different and in a way more innovative: instead of portraying a known building, it portrays the design and thus subsequently the promise of a new ‘great building’. Although future buildings were depicted on some ancient coins as well, in that case it would not be directly connected to the artist as is the case on this medal. The medal is, therefore, more prophetic, meaning that it depicts a vision of the future as it was envisioned by the artist, Donato Bramante, and not by the emperor as patron.

Click below to learn more about architecture depicted on Roman coins and papal medals, or click through to the last step.