Possibly Unique Renaissance Medal - Girolamo da Faenza

[Iosephus]

I acquired this medal a few months ago, and have been trying to find out more information about it. I think I have reached the limit (for now) on what I can discover, and am thus posting my current thoughts, but I would welcome any input that any of the members here might have.

 

Bronze, 43.4mm Ø, 36.9 g

 

Obverse: Bust of Girolamo da Faenza facing right, wearing habit and cappuccio. Around, M · HIERO · FAVENT · PRECO · ET · LVCERNA · FIDEI · .

 

Reverse: Personification of Religion standing facing and holding a torch in her right hand. To the left, Mary Magdalene holding a chalice and to the right St. John standing with hands together in prayer. Around, HEC · VIA · AMBVLATE · IN · EA .

 

This medal is presumably unique and is lacking from all major references except one. The only reference that I am able to find is in the comprehensive catalogue of 16th century Italian medals compiled by Giuseppe Toderi and Fiorenza Vannel, "Le Medaglie Italiane del XVI Secolo", for which this specimen is the plate medal (cat. no. 612). They assign the medal to the years of c. 1513-1516. Unfortunately, no doubt due to its rarity, information regarding it is greatly lacking when compared to other Renaissance medals which have been catalogued. The medal is lacking from Hill's inimitable corpus of Italian Renaissance medals, covering the period of medallic art in Italy up to roughly 1530. Originally published in 1930, Hill's "A Corpus of Italian Medals of the Renaissance before Cellini" remains the standard for medals of that period, and was reprinted with some updates and commentary by John Graham Pollard in 1984.

 

Toderi and Vannel (T&V) identify the subject of the medal only as Girolamo da Faenza, no doubt based on the obverse inscription. However, they provide no background about this person, lamenting that no further information as to his identity is available which could aid in the attribution of the medal to a particular artist. However, I believe that the subject is Girolamo di Gianfrancesco Armellini da Faenza, an inquisitor and member of the Dominican order. He was ordained a priest roughly in mid-1494 and at some point after his studies was appointed vicar to the inquisitor of Mantua, Domenico Pirri da Gargnano. He served in this role until roughly 1518, except for a break for the academic year of 1512-1513, when he was appointed as master of studies in Bologna. He was then inquisitor of Parma from 1518-1526 and inquisitor of Mantua from 1531-1540. He is last recorded as theological lector in the convent of Sant'Andrea in Faenza in 1549-1550.

 

The identification of the subject as the inquisitor Girolamo di Gianfrancesco Armellini da Faenza (or inquisitorial vicar, as he would have been at the time of T&V's dating of the medal) fits with the portrait depiction on the obverse, showing a man in friar's clothing. T&V do not provide full expansions of the inscriptions, nor translations, and I have been unable to determine what the leading "M" would stand for in the obverse inscription. I believe that the remainder of the obverse inscription would expand to HIERONYMUS FAVENTIA PRAECO ET LUCERNA FIDEI, which would then translate to "Girolamo of Faenza, Herald and Lamp of Faith". This too would seem to fit for one who is in the inquisitorial business.

 

The reverse inscription similarly fits the proposed subject. It can be expanded to HAEC EST VIA AMBULATE IN EA, which would then translate as "This Is the Way, Walk Ye In It". This comes from from Isaiah 30:21; "Et aures tuae audient verbum post tergum monentis: Haec est via; ambulate in ea, et non declinetis neque ad dexteram, neque ad sinistram." (And thy ears shall hear the word of one admonishing thee behind thy back: This is the way, walk ye in it: and go not aside neither to the right hand, nor to the left.)

 

Returning to the issue of attribution, T&V attribute this medal, with reservations, to Vittore di Antonio Gambello, called Camelio. This attribution is based upon comparison with the medals typically attributed to Camelio during his time in Rome. Born in Venice, Camelio is recorded in 1484 as being master of the dies for the Venetian mint. He left for Rome in 1510 after a reduction in his salary due to the financial crisis in Venice resulting from war. While in Rome, he was appointed for life as engraver to the papal mint on June 24, 1515. However, he returned to his post in Venice in 1516 and worked there until 1530. Toderi and Vannel lament that no further information about the person portrayed can be used to help assert the attribution of Camelio as the artist. However, if we accept the identification of the subject proposed above, an interesting tidbit becomes known. During his time as inquisitorial vicar of Mantua, Armellini journeyed to Rome in 1511 to represent Pirri at a commission. This places him in Rome during the time in which Camelio was there, and could help to possibly date the medal to slightly earlier than the period posited by T&V.

 

I would be interested to hear the thoughts or opinions of anyone else that might be able to provide further information.

[constanius]

Very interesting. Have you considered & discounted this man? He does seem the perfect candidate.

 

Brother Jerome Foschida Faenza (1445 ca-ca 1532) is present in the catalogs of priors general of the Servants of Mary, a position he held for the space of just one year as apostolic vicar general (July / September 1511-June 1512).

Fra Girolamo Foschida Faenza (1445 ca-1532 ca) è presente nei cataloghi dei priori generali dei Servi di Maria, carica che ricoprì per lo spazio di appena un anno in qualità di vicario generale apostolico (luglio/settembre 1511-giugno 1512).

Hieronymus fuscus of Faventia.

http://servidimaria.net/sitoosm/it/storia/uomini_illustri/foschi/index.htm

Unfortunately I have a very busy schedule and am unable to do any more research and I will be unavailable for a few days.

Best of luck with your research.

[Iosephus]

Actually, I had not come across that man, thanks very much for pointing him out! I had been excited to find out that Armellini had been in Rome at the time that Camelio was there, but I will continue to do more research now on Foschida. Thanks again!

[constanius]

http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/girolamo-foschi_(Dizionario-Biografico)/

 

Just found the above.

[thedeadpoint]

How often were unique medals produced?

[Iosephus]

There are generally no records on the number of medals produced, and I should clarify that I did not mean to imply that this was the only specimen created. The motivation behind creating medals was that they were easily reproducible, and could even be reproduced from another example (aftercasts). I am sure multiple examples of this medal were produced, but this is (possibly) the only surviving example. Of course, there are so many items locked up in museums and other collections around the world that I would not be surprised if one day another example is found.

[constanius]

Just assuming that Foschida is the man portrayed, then the "M" might simply be for "Maestro", " padre maestro Geronimo Fusco"(Giani second volume of the Annals)

 

 

After the death of the prior Clement Bonardo of Mantua, who died July 7, 1511, in unclear circumstances, in Faenza, Foschida was appointed by Pope Julius II Apostolic Vicar General of the Order. The papal appointment must have been made in Rome between July and September 1511, ie over a period of time between the death of Bonardo and the first evidence attesting to his vicarage. If Foschida went to Rome to be appointed that would place him in Rome at the same time as Camelio.

 

According to "Itinerarium" he preached in Bologna, Forli, Florence, Modena, Viterbo, Rome, Arezzo, Pisa, Faenza, Verona, Vicenza, Rimini, Russi, Pietralunga, Halle, Santiago de Compostela, Lisbon, Leon, Paris, Lyon, Aix-en-Provence, Cadiz, Moura, Seville, Porto and Madeira. He also visited Gibraltar, Sardinia, Leipzig and Cologne and presumably preached there.

He himself claimed to have visited Hungary and Poland.

 

The reverse image & inscription would also fit his widespread preaching & his Apostolic Vicar General's mission, as does the Herald & Lamp of Faith inscription on the obverse.

 

Against it being him is, of course, the lack of Foschida or Fuscus in the inscription. That might or might not be a deal breaker.

[Iosephus]

Since the medal makes no mention of a family name (either Armellini or Foschida), I do not believe that to be a deal breaker. The meaning of the "M" as maestro (or magister) does seem like a good possibility. One thing that bothers me is that it does not seem definitive whether Foschida did in fact travel to Rome at that time.

 

Thanks again for your help and input on this!

[Iosephus]

I have been staring at the portrait trying to see if I could determine an estimate on the age of the subject, as there is an approximate difference of 25 years in the ages of Armellini and Foschida. However, I cannot determine whether I think it looks more like a man of 40 or of 65 years of age.

A second thought I've had is in regards to the appearance of the habit he is wearing. The look reminds me greatly of that of another famous Dominican, Girolamo Savonarola:

 

I am unsure of the typical appearance of a member of the Servite Order, which Foschida belonged to, and whether or not it would be noticeably different in such a portrait.

[Iosephus]

Thinking further about the "M", it is possible it could stand for the same thing for Armellini when he was master of studies in Bologna for the 1512-13 academic year ("magister studentium"). Of course, this would call further into question the dating of the medal, since he would not have had that title when he went to Rome for the case against Pietro da Lucca, as the appointment was ratified on June 19, 1512.