# Gianfrancesco Gonzaga [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [PISANELLO]() - Date: 1401-1450 - Technique: Cast bronze, diameter 10 cm ## Commentary Gianfrancesco Gonzaga c. 1447 Cast bronze, diameter 10 cm Münzkabinett, Staatliche Museen, Berlin On the present medal, Gianfrancesco Gonzaga is celebrated both as a prince and as a military leader. Gianfrancesco Gonzaga \(1395-1444\) was a successful military captain and a key figure in consolidating Gonzaga rule in Mantua. In 1433, he obtained the hereditary title of marquess from Emperor Sigismund. It is likely that the medal was commissioned in 1447 by Gianfrancesco's son Ludovico, as head of the family, as part of a program of family celebration by the second marquess of Mantua. On the obverse of the medal, the marquess appears opulently dressed with a large hat. His role as a military commander is the subject of the reverse, where he wears field armour, holds the baton of command, and sits astride a powerful steed. A dwarf squire, similarly attired for war, is seen from the back. ## Related artworks - [Alfonso of Aragon]() - [Alfonso of Aragon]() - [Annunciation]() - [Apes \(from the artist's sketchbook\)]() - [Apparition of the Virgin to Sts Anthony Abbot and George]() - [Borso d'Este]() - [Borso d'Este]() - [Bust of an Old Man]() - [Cecilia Gonzaga]() - [Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg]() - [Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg]() - [Filippo Maria Visconti]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()