# Cecilia Gonzaga [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [PISANELLO]() - Date: 1401-1450 - Technique: Cast bronze, diameter 7 cm ## Commentary Cecilia Gonzaga \(\(1426-1451\) was the daughter of the marquess of Mantua, Gianfrancesco Gonzaga who became a cloistered Clarissan nun in 1445. She must have had extraordinary talents; although nothing survives from her hand to demonstrate her achievements, she was extensively praised for her learning by an impressive array of intellectuals. Although the medal was probably commissioned to honour her erudition, in it she is celebrated for the traditional feminine virtue of chastity. The reverse alludes to this in both classical and Christian terms. Pisanello's medal, the first of a woman, is one of his most successful medals, integrating the two sides to form a balanced and complementary whole. ## 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]() - [Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg]() - [Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg]() - [Filippo Maria Visconti]() - [Filippo Maria Visconti]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()