# Portrait Medal of Pietro Aretino [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [UNKNOWN MASTER, Italian]() - Date: 1501-1550 - Technique: Bronze, diameter 4,8 cm ## Commentary The front of the medal shows Pietro Aretino \(1492-1557\), a well-known poet of his period who was famous because of his satirical poems. he is represented as a profile bust, facing right, with a long beard and full, short hair. What is specific here, as opposed to other medals depicting Aretino, is the reverse side: a satyr-head, composed of a tangle of phalluses and testicles, including one penis that is ejaculating. There were various explanations for this phallus-head. It could be a revenge for an insulting epigram of Aretino, or it could be a reference to Aretino's homosexuality. The idea of the phallus-head was not an invention of the unknown medallist. It also appears <A onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/u/urbini/testa.html'\)" HREF="/html/u/urbini/testa.html">on a maiolica plate</A> from 1536 and in a drawing attributed to Cecchino del Salviati. ## Related artworks - [A Bishop Saint]() - [A Curious Scene]() - [Adam and Eve; Cain and Abel]() - [Adoration of St Mark]() - [Allegorical Portrait of Dante]() - [Altar frontal]() - [Altarpiece \(detail\)]() - [Altarpiece of St Clare \(detail\)]() - [Altarpiece of St Clare \(detail\)]() - [Altarpiece of St Clare]() - [Altarpiece of the Magi]() - [Altarpiece]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()