Facebook of the Renaissance
In our present time we know medals in the context of sports and other competitions, since they are mostly handed out as awards. In the Renaissance, medals were substantially more than just an award. They were actually used as tools of communication among the European elite and used in various contexts depending on the audience. Medals could be given as a gift or collector's item, but they could also be enclosed with the foundation stones of important buildings or exhibited or distributed as a token for the general public.
Given that medals usually contain a portrait on the obverse, they literally be considered as the ‘Facebook of the Renaissance’. As portable and sharable objects, often given away as personal or diplomatic gifts, they were the ideal ‘friend request’. They show a profile in every sense of the word. A ‘profile picture’ could be found on the obverse, and, like every social media page, they could provide a personal narrative on the reverse and in the legend. Do you think 240 characters on Twitter is not enough space to get your message out? Try the 42 mm diameter of a medal! The medalists as early modern content creators needed to be creative to condense their messages in image and text, resulting in very complex and multi-layered narratives on these medals.
Even though these medals were not a means of payment, Renaissance contemporaries did consider them as ‘the heirs of ancient coins’. This gave them historical significance, as well as the splendor and glory of a long tradition. Logically, Renaissance medals usually contain a lot of ancient motifs, but at the same time, they developed a sophisticated visual language of their own. In exploring a medal, you should therefore always observe the imitation of ancient models, but simultaneously consider the artistic innovation that sets them apart from the ancient medium of coinage. Each portrait on a medal could subsequently be seen as a potential ‘face of power’ communicating its ideological messages.
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