I am indebted to Christian. One of his threads (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,10710.0/topicseen.html) gave me the idea for this one.
There is not just art on coins, coins also figure in art. Artists may use them to strengthen their message or to add to detail. They also provide great background on how coins were used.
"The money changer and his wife" (1514) by Quentin Matsys is an excellent example. There is quite a bit of analysis of this famous painting on the net. I am just noting the smal, collapsable hand balance and the interlocking weights set (sluitgewicht). I am wondering about the black rectangular object in front of the man. Could it be a touchstone for determining the fineness of the coins?
Here is a print made in 1553 from the national print room in Amsterdam. The theme contrasts the material (money) with the spiritual (death). The title above says "You fool, this night your soul will be claimed, who will then own what you have assembled?"
To the rich man's right (left on the print) is a desk with drawers that can be locked. One open drawer shows long cross small change. On his left is a cabinet with double doors. The open door reveals sacks of money. On top of the cabinet are sealed documents, presumably having value (letters of exchange or ownership?) as well as a small hand balance. There are probably more valuables in the case on which the rich man is sitting: it can be locked. The valuables are kept at home and the rich man would need staff to protect him and his money and pay them well enough to keep them from turning against their master. A delicate balancing act.
Peter
It is a beautiful piece of art for many dimensions, the placement of the mirror in front of the subjects - with the reflection of an open window draws your attention away from the subjects for a brief moment, as though to suggest there is something else going on at the same time. I love how the wife is depicted with an open book, suggesting that she is literate - very rare for the time. Yeah, it is a work I am familiar with and can easily stare into with wonderment for a long time.
Another one on the same theme, referring to the biblical story of the calling of Saint Matthew (1536, Alte Pinakothek, München.) The tax collector, the sinner, the traitor Matthew becomes one of Jesus' disciples, forsaking the money he collects for the Roman emperor. The artist, Jan Sanders van Hemessen, pictures the scene as if it were contemporary. The young woman in the foreground handles a box that would contain a hand balance and counterweights for current coins. The gold and silver coins come in several sizes. This painting was originally described as a scene in a tax office. Jesus (right) was added almost 100 years later to turn a neutral painting of a commercial scene into a moral story and a biblical scene.
Peter
Tax collectors never were really popular :-X. Marinus Claeszoon van Reymerswaele painted a whole series called "two men in an office" (mid 16th century.) The office is clearly a tax office. One man is keeping books. The other is supervising. A scarred mouth turns his face into an ugly grin and his hand is like a claw. The coins are hard to pile, though an effort has been made. They must have been checked on receipt, as there are no instruments on the table.
Peter
An elegant, rich young couple has come to the jeweller to buy wedding rings. The jeweller is well stocked in luxury items. He uses a hand balance and a box of interlocking weights any money changer would recognize. Moralizing is restricted to the mirror, showing two young men with hunting falcons, symbol of empty materialism. Wealth will seldom get a more sympathetic treatment.
There is a reason. This is an altar piece commissioned by the guild of goldsmiths, silversmiths and money changers of Brugge. The jeweller is saint Eligius of Noyon, patron saint of the guild and said to have been a jeweller. The artist is Petrus Christus and the piece is Saint Eligius with bridal couple (1449, Metropolitan Museum, New York)
Many of the coins on the painting were identified. They include goldgulden from Mainz, saluts d'or from Gascogne under the English king Henry VI and gold riders of Philip of Burgundy. The details serve to illustrate the wealth of Bruges and its international connections.
Peter
There is a box again with the hand balance and weights and a frame, where coins are neatly exhibited in rows. Nothing ugly or moralistic in sight. The artist, Jan Sanders van Hemessen, painted "A girl weighing gold" (Gemäldegalerie - Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz) around 1530 - 1535. He is known for his religious paintings and caricatures. Here, he painted a beautiful girl in her best clothes making delicate movements. My best guess is that this is a celebration of beauty, an early genre piece, possibly an "inspirational piece" for the master bedroom ;)
Peter
Here is the counterpoint for the previous painting: "De goudweger" (1654, museum Boymans van Beuningen) by Salomon Koninck. Same scene, same instruments. Only the actor has changed. An old man instead of a young girl. The most important thing to the artist is the light coming from the window, not the man or his activity.
Peter
The usurer, by Gabriel Metsu (1654, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) has the same hand scale and a heavy case to lock his wealth in. He is unmoved, even irritated by the crying woman with the document. She will have to look for sympathy elsewhere. Behind the man is an allegory on miserliness. The man is dressed in a warm cloak and hat. He doesn't want to spend money on heating.
Peter
Might not be another who enjoys this topic, but myself I am rather duly intrigued. Of course I have spent many a fine hours sauntering hither and tither in Rijksmuseum, the Louvre, the Orsay etc. I could very easily desire to study them much more. I enjoy a lot of Italian renaissance, but Dutch masters are the pinnacle of my pursuits.
Not a coin in sight, but this (pretty awful) painting is all about coins. It originally showed the minters, later the transfer of responsibilities from Dordrecht mint master Jacob Davidtse to mint master Johannes van der Linden on 24th July 1677. Davidtse is seated, second from right. Van der Linden is top row extreme left. He was added later. All the others are the serment of the mint, the top officials of the mint and of the Estates of Holland responsible for coinage. All had to be shown clearly to avoid fights over who was the most important, so that there was little place for perspective, light and shadow. This is not meant as a work of art, but rather as an official decoration on the walls of the better part of the mint, an official picture, rather than a realistic scene. It was meant to be replaced by a new painting at the next transfer of the mint.
And yet ... looking at those faces, you can easily imagine meeting these people in the streets of Amsterdam. Instead of uniform lace collars and black cloaks, they'll be wearing uniform jeans and windbreakers and instead of whigs, they'll be balding, but doesn't it all amount to the same thing?
"The minters", by Anthony Vreem (1674, Dordrechts Museum)
Peter
Prolly smelled good, months or more of not bathing, no deodorant. :P
I you had been born 400 years ago, this might have been you. This painting shows Jean Warin, chief engraver of the Paris mint, teaching young Louis XIV about coins and medals in his coin cabinet (François Lemaire, around 1643-1648, Musée de la Monnaie). Young Louis liked his coins and medals. He expanded his collection, now the French national collection, considerably.
Peter
Here is a portrait of a 15th century Italian gentleman said to be Giovanni Candida by Hans Memling (1468, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp). Our hero is holding a bronze Roman coin to show that not only royalty was interested in collecting coins. The detail of the coin's legend is sharp enough to identify it as a coin of Nero.
Peter
Portrait of a young man by Sandro Botticelli (around 1474, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence). This medal was also identified: Cosimo de Medici, surrounded by the legend MAGNVS COSMVS MEDICES PPP. The maker of the medal was painter and engraver Niccolo Fiorentino. Some say the young man is Fiorentino himself.
Peter
An allegory on gratefulness. The winged youngster standing in an egg may represent irresponsible youth. He may be offering the empty, broken egg shell to the rich man. The rich man is surrounded by wealth, symbolized by bags of money and a locked, heavy case, and refuses the offer.
Jan Ewoutsz. Muller, around 1542-1546, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Peter
According to Ovid, king Argos received a prediction that he would be killed by his grandson. Therefore, he locked up his only child, Danae in a huge tower. However, Zeus, always the philanderer, found the maiden and entered the tower as a rain of gold. The scene has inspired several painters. Rembrandt shows the dramatic entry of Zeus as bundles of light. Tintoretto (1580, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon) used coins instead. As comic relief, there's a maid catching the coins in her apron, but it's too late. Zeus is already on Danae's lap >:D
Peter
Atelier of Quentin Matsys, undated (1466-1530), private collection
This painting (http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot_details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=5221703&sid=0a9a8ba7-a17b-4711-827d-ab4088d25e50) was auctioned by Christie. Thanks to the enlargement feature on Christies site, you can have a good look at the coins. The scene is a tax office. A man has emptied his coin purse (in his left hand), but the tax inspectors are not satisfied. One grins self satisfied. He knows he'll get more. The other has curled down the corner of his mouth. He is about to give the man on the right a good scolding.
Christies catalogue (Sale 7743, 7 July 2009) says:
We are grateful to Mr. Roberto Russo of Numismatica Ars Classica for identifying the coins, which include several gold nobles, probably English and from the period 1327-1553 (Edward III to Edward VI), shown both in observe and in reverse; several English gold Angels (also called angel-nobles) from the period 1399-1547 (Henry IV to Henry VIII); what may be a silver groat of Henry VI (reigned 1422-1471); a silver testone of Ercole d'Este of Ferrara (reigned 1471-1505); and several gold dos excelentes in the name of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille, probably struck in the Netherlands during the reign of Charles V (reigned 1516-1556).
Peter
I really like this topic ;D
Here is my contribution from Portuguese Art
Livro de Horas de D. João III
(http://www.numismatas.com/album/albums/userpics/10003/horas1.jpg)
Crónica de D. João I de Fernão Lopes
(http://www.numismatas.com/album/albums/userpics/10003/horas3.jpg)
«Fac-simile» da iluminura da Adoração dos Magos do Livro de Horas deD. João III
(http://www.numismatas.com/album/albums/userpics/10003/horas2.jpg)
Livro dos Ofícios Pontifícios da Inquisição
(http://www.numismatas.com/album/albums/userpics/10003/horas4.jpg)
When i dont collect coins , write books or travel I sometimes paint , it is not coins , but it is still money the title is China dream
it is a oil painting I made
squarecoinman
Neat, scm. Are you married to a Chinese?
Peter
Though not exactly an art, but in India, particularly at the time of Diwali (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali), you can find many posters of Goddess Laxmi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakshmi), showering Gold Coins.
Abhay
Quote from: Figleaf on August 24, 2012, 10:31:34 AM
Neat, scm. Are you married to a Chinese?
Peter
yes i am :)
scm
The parable of the lost coin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Lost_Coin) is a biblical story.
Or what woman, if she had ten drachma coins, if she lost one drachma coin, wouldn't light a lamp, sweep the house, and seek diligently until she found it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the drachma which I had lost.'
— Luke 15:8–10
The morality play is illustrated by Jan Luyken, who creates a fashionable Italian scenery with the drachma - not more than a round slice, is almost in the centre, as a counterpoint to the happy faces of the owner and her neighbours, with the broom and candle in the background.
Illustration: "Teachings of Jesus 13 of 40. parable of the lost drachma. Jan Luyken etching. Bowyer Bible" by Phillip Medhurst - Photo by Harry Kossuth. Licensed under FAL via Wikimedia Commons
Peter
Here is another Danae (see reply #16), this one by Orazia Gentileschi. Here, it's not a maid, but Cupid who helps catch the coins. The painting is in the news because it will be auctioned next January. No need for a coin collector to buy it. The gold coins are too indistinct to be identified ;)
Peter
Separation between state and church is a basic tenet of Christianity. Here is a 1560s painting by Titian (National gallery, London) illustrating the text on which it rests (Matthew 22:15-22): Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
The coin is not centre stage. That role is given to the look and attitude of Jesus and the man holding the coin. Yet, the coin has a role by itself. There is quite a bit of speculation on which coin it was. The text calls it a denarion and it is traditionally taken for a denarius of Tiberius. However, Titian painted a gold coin. One thing is certain. A penny it is not.
Peter
More yet on taxes. Now it's on paying tax to the church and the advice is to do it as not to give offense (Matthew 17:24-27.)
After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?" "Yes, he does," he replied.
When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. "What do you think, Simon?" he asked. "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?" "From others," Peter answered. "Then the children are exempt," Jesus said to him. "But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours."
The illustration comes from Augustin Tünger's (around 1455-1486) Facetiae Latinae et Germanicae, Konstanz 1486, (Württembergischen Landesbibliothek Stuttgart). Less than 200 years separate this illustration from the one above, but this one is still completely medieval: without regard to scale and depth and respecting traditional symbolism. While the text speaks of one coin, a tetradrachme for two persons, in the illustration, Peter offers two coins in payment, both with a cross, like so many medieval coins.
Peter
Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=608276
St. Peter, Fish, Coin ... reminds of another famous painting that also tells this story: Masaccio's "Pagamento del Tributo" from the mid-1420s. Fish on the left, tax collector on the right.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Masaccio7.jpg/300px-Masaccio7.jpg)
An article with larger images is here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tribute_Money_(Masaccio)) (Wikipedia).
Until about a month ago, by the way, the Kunsthalle Baden-Baden (BW, DE) had an exhibition about money in art: "Money. Good and evil." (en (http://www.kunsthalle-baden-baden.de/programm-en-US/show/132) - de (http://www.kunsthalle-baden-baden.de/programm/show/131)). Wanted to go there but, errm, procrastination took its toll. ;)
Christian
This painting I saw at the TEFAF art fair in Maastricht, last March. It was made by Joos van Craesbeeck (1605-1661), a painter from the Southern Netherlands.
It was called 'Old man counting money' but to me it looks like a collector admiring a coin.
-- Paul
Nice addition and good point, Pellinore. That's not how you count, that's an investigation. Since there is a pile of coppers on the desk (?), the man might be worried about the silver content of the large coin, rather than trying to discern design details, though.
Peter
This is a 15th century illustration from Le Livre des Merveilles by Maître de la Mazarine. It shows an episode from the fall of Baghdad (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Baghdad_(1258)#Destruction) in 1258, after a siege of just 12 days. The picture is probably inspired by a tale by Marco Polo. Polo spent time at the court of Kublai Khan, a brother of Hulagu. He was therefore far away from the action, but privy to the tales of the court.
The story goes that when Hulagu discovered how much gold and silver khalif Al-Musta'sim had, he reproached him that he hadn't spent the money on the defence of the city. He had the khalif imprisoned with his treasure to starve to death, reportedly saying "now eat that!"
The picture shows Hulagu, the victor, in a red robe. He is accompanied by an officer, who instructs a soldier. The soldier, holding a key, is pushing the khalif into the treasure chamber with an improbable large window, so we can look inside. The khalif is reluctant to go in, but offers little resistance and is dressed in fine clothes, symbolising his failures. The gold coins in the room, together with the gold objects and the purse of silver coins (a typical medieval Europan device for carrying silver on a belt) symbolise useless wealth, which would have been the message of the picture.
Picture source: By Maître de la Mazarine [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
Peter
Fantastic thread. I had missed it completely!
Charon and Psyche by John Roddam Spencer Stanhope
Now it gets a little juicier. :) Around 1537, Lucas Cranach the Elder created a painting called "Alter Mann von Kurtisanen betört". I already mentioned it here (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,38876.0.html); no need to try and identify the coins.
The title could be translated as something like "Old Man beguiled by courtesans", but the Cranach Archives use "Old Man and Young Courtesans". Anyway, we see a senior citizen surrounded by a drinking glass, cards, and three young women. In the background, a couple (man and woman) who are not really involved. The three courtesans are busy grabbing the old man's money ...
Attached is a small portion of the painting; embedding the whole thing here still does not seem to work. The description is here http://lucascranach.org/PRIVATE_NONE-P161 (use the "EN/DE" link in the top left corner to change languages).
You can see the painting here: http://lucascranach.org/PRIVATE_NONE-P161/image Double click/tap to enlarge it (or use the +/- buttons on the right). Once the viewed portion is larger than your screen, use the cursor to "move around".
Christian
Well, here's the whole picture, I found it on Wikipedia, or rather, Wikimedia Commons, the picture treasury of Wikipedia (49 million pictures!). Can we say something expertish on the coins involved?
-- Paul
There are several types of coins in the picture. Some are visibly smaller. I think Cranach had gold coins in mind. The full length crowned man, standing legs spread does not ring a bell. On some coins, I can read DANCK GOT, on others ROM (IMP?). The one at far right reads AVG. That's about as far as I get, but note that what I can read is not in the same place on all coins.
One option is that Cranach used a counter as model for his coins. They are more likely to be inscribed in German.
Peter
I'm fascinated by monumental uses of coinage, especially when they involve impossible dates -- we have buildings here in town (mainly banks) that have Peace dollars dated 1908 and Walking Liberty halves dated 1954 on their façades. Anyone know of any other examples?
Quote from: trdsf on August 27, 2018, 09:40:34 AM
-- we have buildings here in town (mainly banks) that have Peace dollars dated 1908 and Walking Liberty halves dated 1954 on their façades.
Interesting, I have never seen a bank façade with coins. Is it old? Can you show a picture?
-- Paul
Quote from: chrisild on September 18, 2017, 02:14:03 PM
In the background, a couple (man and woman) who are not really involved.
I think they are father and daughter. The daughter looks much like the middle courtesan. Paintings of this period are often morality tales. Maybe the father is warning his daughter (see his hand gesture) not to become a courtesan by showing her that it would be immoral or worse.
Peter
Could well be. The description at lucascranach.org merely says "A young gesticulating couple at the edge of the painting comment on the event." But it is quite obvious that they are used as "pointers" ...
Another object that could be of interest here is the Fangyuan Mansion (http://image.en.yibada.com/data/thumbs/full/87341/685/0/0/0/guangzhou-circle-aka-the-big-coin-is-home-to-the-guangdong-plastic-exchange.jpg) in Shenyang, China. Looks like a giant cash coin. ;) (The name in the URL is wrong by the way. That refers to another high rise - the "donut style" Guangzhou Circle (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Guangzhou_Circle_3.jpg).)
Christian
To return to museum art, where this thread started, a painting I saw last week in Berlin (Gemäldegalerie). It was made by Dutch painter Jan Lievens, a fellow worker of Rembrandt. You see a rich woman giving a gold coin to an old hag with a small child, apparently asking to tell her fortune. Behind this group is a conspicuous girl with joyful expression and a light complexion, and in the shadow behind is a dark girl.
According to the text in the museum, the title is just 'A Fortune Teller', but I also found another title, 'Preciosa and Doña Clara' (https://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=167331) with the year 1631, when the painter was about 24 years old, and living in Leyden. That title points to a story by Cervantes, 'La Gitanilla' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_gitanilla), published in 1613 and soon very popular. It's about a gypsy girl, talented and beautiful, who after many trials turns out to be a countess, etc., etc. This makes sense, for it explains most of what we see on the painting, and it's a popular story of its time.
And then there's the coin, a gold piece that to me looks Spanish or Portuguese with its strong cross in a circle. But I'm sure you know more about the coin and hope you are going to tell me about it.
-- Paul
Quote from: Figleaf on August 27, 2018, 03:10:38 PM
I think they are father and daughter. The daughter looks much like the middle courtesan.
Does not look so.
I ran this painting through Artificial Intelligence Machine Learnt Age determining software.
The daughter and middle courtesan appear to be sisters and "father" is more like husband.
Well, that software and I have very different opinions regarding the women in green and red. ;) 32 vs 48?? And then there is the question of what women looked like, at the age of almost 50, in the first half of the 16th century ...
Here is another coin in art - the famous German (Fed. Rep.) 50 pfennig coin with the woman planting a little oak tree. The artist Joseph Beuys used the piece for his 7000 oaks for Kassel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7000_Oaks) documenta campaign. The title: "Every tree has its price".
(https://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/2016/10/25/3/9/e/39e45770-9aa6-11e6-8703-01513d1f2428.jpg)
(If the embedded link does not work, click here (https://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/2016/10/25/3/9/e/39e45770-9aa6-11e6-8703-01513d1f2428.jpg).)
Christian
Quote from: Pellinore on August 27, 2018, 12:12:30 PM
Interesting, I have never seen a bank façade with coins. Is it old? Can you show a picture?
-- Paul
Yeah, I'll see if I can find them and put them on Flickr -- if not, I can just re-take the pictures. I know where they are. :)
Edit: I may have to re-take the images; they were hosted on Imageshack and they went evil several years ago and I can't access my own zarking pictures there anymore.
Edit Edit: Much to my surprise (or not due to my digital packrat nature) I found a couple of them -- so I present the 1907 and 1954 Peace dollars:
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1886/44337509821_f00121fff2_z.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/trdsf/44337509821)
(https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1847/44337509381_d94dab9112_z.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/trdsf/44337509381)
Alas, the building that hosted the 1954 Peace dollar has since been torn down.
Great, thanks very much for your pictures! So there were large eagles perched on these dollars, very curious. In my country, the analogy would be a lion sitting on a stone guilder. I must see if I can find sculpture like that.
-- Paul
Quote from: Pellinore on August 29, 2018, 08:30:36 AM
Great, thanks very much for your pictures! So there were large eagles perched on these dollars, very curious. In my country, the analogy would be a lion sitting on a stone guilder. I must see if I can find sculpture like that.
-- Paul
I have to say, I really like the 1907 with the incuse date and lettering. And I need to go downtown and re-shoot the 1954 Walking Liberty half just east of the State House. The magnificently Art Deco LeVeque Tower (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeVeque_Tower) downtown has some classical Greek coinage on its façade, but they're undated, and I have heard that there might be some more impossibly-dated coin representations inside the Huntington downtown.
I sense a photographic safari on my schedule for this weekend!
Quote from: Pellinore on August 27, 2018, 11:00:50 PM
According to the text in the museum, the title is just 'A Fortune Teller', but I also found another title, 'Preciosa and Doña Clara' (https://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=167331) with the year 1631, when the painter was about 24 years old, and living in Leyden. That title points to a story by Cervantes, 'La Gitanilla' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_gitanilla), published in 1613 and soon very popular. It's about a gypsy girl, talented and beautiful, who after many trials turns out to be a countess, etc., etc. This makes sense, for it explains most of what we see on the painting, and it's a popular story of its time.
And then there's the coin, a gold piece that to me looks Spanish or Portuguese with its strong cross in a circle. But I'm sure you know more about the coin and hope you are going to tell me about it.
Portuguese is unlikely. The bars at the end of the arms of the cross were either much larger and triangular or absent on Portuguese gold of this time. Also, Portuguese gold was not an international currency, so it would not often have been around in 17th century Leiden and it wouldn't fit the story, undoubtedly set in Spain.
Spain has a credible candidate that fits the story. Judging from the dimensions of the hand, the 2½ cm gold 2 escudos. See attachment. It was the international gold coin of choice. It must have been around in the port of Amsterdam and in the houses of rich merchants and a settled painter like Rembrandt. The cross seems a bit too large and the bars somewhat too small, though. It is possible that a 22 year old painter could only see the coin from a distance at best and painted it from memory.
Peter
Great solution, this could well be It. Probably it wasn't necessary for a painter to make an exact copy of a coin, it's only a tiny detail of the painting. But I suspect painters with connections would see common valuable coins in his time. And didn't you have popular exchange booklets and pamphlets showing outlines of coins, like this much later almanac part (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,34202.msg215844.html#msg215844)?
-- Paul
You may be thinking of tariff books or lists with newly tariffed or banned coins. Both were illustrated with very good drawings of the coins. The tariff books were standard possessions for money dealers, probably quite expensive. The banned coin and newly tariffed coin posters were pasted on walls, so considerably more accessible.
There is another option: a coin weight. That's what that too long cross reminds me of. There was a rough sketch of the coin with the same weight on the weight itself and the painter could have been told that it was "like the real coin".
Peter
Quite possible, copying from weights! But we don't know how much a large painting was sold for. Could well be several gold pieces.
— Paul
In principle, I think paintings were not so expensive. Two pieces of evidence.
- High quality painting owners. There are well known painting collections of the 17th and 18th century. There are even paintings of painting collections, showing high-ceilinged, stately rooms with walls covered top to bottom with paintings. Remarkably, we often know little about the collectors and much more about their paintings, including famous Rembrandts and Van Dykes. Visit stately homes in the UK and you get another indication: loads of family portraits of very decent quality. Also, note that the huge Rembrandt collection of the Hermitage came to Russia in the luggage of Dutch migrant merchants.
- Famous painters would employ trainees who would do the large surfaces, while the master would fill in details. They would sometimes also make multiple copies of a painting or even do a whole painting that would be sold with the name of the master (hence the "school of Rembrandt" paintings, sadly including my beloved "Man in a golden helmet".) It all points at a "high turnover, low price" strategy. In other words, famous painters worked more like supermarkets than like specialty shops.
Ironically, the worst paintings may have been the most expensive: the line-ups of the directors, the bosses, the members of the guild or the supervisors of the orphanage. They would be painted on order, with the subjects, not the painter, deciding the lay-out and in one single copy only. A painter would have considered those orders a necessary evil, a source of easy money and there were (long forgotten, but very popular in their time) painters who specialised in such group portraits. The best deal would have been for court painters like Velázquez or Van Dyke, who could count on selling hundreds of cheap copies of a portrait of the king.
Peter
Maybe paintings were not so expensive. But you could not buy one for a few coppers. I read somewhere randomly (https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_zev001200701_01/_zev001200701_01_0014.php) (in Dutch, see footnote 35) that a lottery in the Dutch city of Haarlem, 1634, contained a number of second-hand paintings valued between 8 gulden (guilders) and 107 gulden. A painting by Adriaan van Ostade, a then still living very good painter but not of the highest order, was valued 30 gulden.
If you use the online calculator (http://www.iisg.nl/hpw/calculate.php) of the International Institute for Social History (IISG), you find that 8 gulden of 1634 purchase the same as 92 euros of 2016. Not illogically, nowadays this is an amount that can get you still a cheap but reasonable second-hand painting. And 8 gulden of 1634 is more than a golden ducat - you know more about this than I do.
So I think Lievens was paid several gold coins for a commissioned large painting.
-- Paul
Sure. Point taken. Some paintings are cheap, some are expensive. BTW, a gold rider was around 14 gulden. I wasn't arguing that Lievens couldn't possible have seen gold coins, but rather, I was trying to explain the odd cross.
It also depends on how Rembrandt and Lievens arranged payments. If they left the bookkeeping to a "rentmeester" they would see the difference between cost and turnover. Cost were high, as famous painters didn't shrink from grinding precious stones for paint. If they did the finances themselves, they'd see payments and pay costs, which is a different story. IIRC, daddy Van Uylenburg did the finances for a while. Maybe that's why Rembrandt was rich for a while. ;)
I love and admire those very long statistics series. You shouldn't take them too seriously, though. They are fun attempt to get insight in people's standard of living and they are fit for that purpose. However, a long run comparison is tricky. I won't bore you to sleep with technical details, but consider this as an example: inflation is measured by the price of a basket of common necessities. The problem is that in 1635, different goods were daily necessities. In 1635, there was no demand for toothpaste, rice, soft drinks or batteries. Today, there is little demand for candles, brooms and peat.
After having been to this year's World Money Fair, I went to the Bode Museum the next day (that is, yesterday). The reason was that they have a temporary exhibition about the 150th anniversary of the Coin Cabinet as a museum. Actually this special show is just one room, but they lure you into the permanent exhibition. ;) So here we go - a glass window from Schaffhausen, CH (1565) that shows the process of minting.
Christian
Thank you, Christian. Highly interesting. I think panes should be "read" from right to left, starting right below. My interpretation would be:
1. Melting metal
2. Not clear. Looks like some saint blessing and a surprised lay getting water out of a well with a wooden bucket. The function of the gourde (drinking water?) in front of the well is unclear.
3. Casting plate
4. "Rolling" plate to required thickness
5. Hammering dies out of plate
6. Hammering coins
7. Checking and adjusting weight
8. Checking diameter
9. Final inspection
Peter
I saw this coin painting in the Rijksmuseum Twente in the city of Enschede, next to the German border in the Netherlands. The painting was made by Joos van Cleve (Cleve, c.1485 - Antwerp, c.1540) and called Portrait of an unknown man counting money, about 1515. It is a very nice trompe-l'oeil, the paintwork flowing over the frame at the bottom. I enlarged the coins for who wants to identify them.
-- Paul
Cannot recognize those coins, sorry. For some odd reason, WikiGallery (http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_120848/Joos-Van-Cleve-%28Beke%29/Portrait-of-Anthonis-van-Hilten) says it's in Amsterdam, but I guess you will know where you saw it. ;) (Edit: Ah, this page (https://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/c/cleve/joos/portrai1.html) also says Enschede ...)
Christian
This site (https://hoogsteder.com/paintings/portrait-anthonis-van-hilten/) says it's in Enschede. It also confirms the identity of the man portrayed.
The explanation may well have to do with the last sentence here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rijksmuseum_Twenthe): From 2006–2008 the museum showed parts of the collection of the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum, especially art from the 18th century.
As for the coins: large silver provincial Dutch, I think. The central single coins seems to have a crowned coat of arms with a climbing lion, the arms of Holland. The top coin on the pile might have the Utrecht coat of arms. What I find interesting is how the painting reflects wealth as good and normal, not as earthly proxy-sin.
Peter
The painting dates from the early 16th century, not the 17th. So these are from well before Provincial coins of the Dutch republic - in fact just before Charles the Fifth.
— Paul
By the way, on the same trip I saw an extraordinary exhibition in the village of Gorssel, 40 miles west of Enschede where a collector built his own museum of of realistic art. It was about four Swiss brothers (https://www.hollandtimes.nl/articles/artsandculture/the-barraud-brothers-in-museum-more/) named Barraud, active in the 1920s and 1930s. The most famous of them, François Barraud (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Barraud), unfortunately died young from TBC (= he knew it was to come), and after that the remaining brothers gradually lost their zeal.
There was a painting by François Barraud of himself as a stamp collector. I had never seen interest in stamps in a painting, quite extraordinary. Well, it's not coins, but a collector! You don't expect a subject like that. Anyway, here it is.
-- Paul
Fun addition. Thank you, Pellinore. The young lady makes an intimate gesture with one hand on the young man's shoulder. Her other hand is used to hold up something for him to look at. Her attention is on that object. He complies, by holding his little magnifier over the object, but look at his eyes! His attention is with the stamps lying loose on the corner of the album. Disconnect.
Another thing that caught my attention is the black and red object right below. Near by are a decorated box and what seems like a block of wood. The wood is actually the "handle" of an East Asian signature stamp you can see protruding on the far side. Such stamps are traditionally used with red ink. The red and black object may be an East Asian ink cushion, with the red being the stamp of the maker. Maybe it came as a set with the stamp in the decorated box. They all belong together, but have no direct connection with the stamps.
Peter
Last week I came across an article about Rembrandt's "Money Changer" in Die Zeit (https://www.zeit.de/2019/12/gleichnis-vom-reichen-mann-rembrandt-van-rijn-habgier). And you know how we sometimes meander ... ;) So here are three paintings that involve coins.
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5j6I7Amm3-s/XAtuw-Z5tfI/AAAAAAAAIEk/EWijkuDYwtATQskWIjKG8N9HBgnFHR4-QCEwYBhgL/s1600/GleichnisvomreichenKornbauerBerlin.jpg)
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5j6I7Amm3-s/XAtuw-Z5tfI/AAAAAAAAIEk/EWijkuDYwtATQskWIjKG8N9HBgnFHR4-QCEwYBhgL/s1600/GleichnisvomreichenKornbauerBerlin.jpg
(Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn: The Money Changer – various titles | Gemäldegalerie Berlin (https://www.smb.museum/nachrichten/detail/rembrandt-forschungsprojekt-abgeschlossen-berliner-gemaelde-in-der-rembrandt-database.html))
Another Rembrandt ...
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_024.jpg/800px-Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_024.jpg)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_024.jpg/800px-Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_024.jpg
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn: Christ driving the money-changers from the Temple | Pushkin Museum, Moscow
Here we have a work by Gerrit or Gerard van Honthorst.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T37nE-8SkFg/XAtxA9VdRiI/AAAAAAAAIEw/Nbc-MgVktykAbJcQbo1xl1i2RdJkt7IrwCLcBGAs/s1600/HonthorstAlteFraumitMu%25CC%2588nze1624TheKremerCollection.jpg)
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-T37nE-8SkFg/XAtxA9VdRiI/AAAAAAAAIEw/Nbc-MgVktykAbJcQbo1xl1i2RdJkt7IrwCLcBGAs/s1600/HonthorstAlteFraumitMu%25CC%2588nze1624TheKremerCollection.jpg
(Gerrit van Honthorst: Old woman examining a coin by a lantern | The Kremer Collection (http://www.thekremercollection.com/gerrit-van-honthorst-old-woman-examining-a-coin-by-a-lantern-sight-or-avarice/))
Christian
That money changer is as brilliant as Rembrandt gets. It is not another morality tale, but a study of light and how it plays in a grotto of papers and shielded by a hand. All this before someone thought of photography. Have you seen the delicate coin scales on the desk, camouflaged by light surplus?
Peter
Another painting by Marinus Reymerswaele (1490-1546) who painted the original poster's (OP) painting:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Marinus_van_Reymerswale_-_The_Banker_and_His_Wife_-_WGA19323.jpg/640px-Marinus_van_Reymerswale_-_The_Banker_and_His_Wife_-_WGA19323.jpg)
Marinus Reymerswaele - The Banker and his Wife
From Wikimedia Commons
Marinus Reymerswaele made lots of paintings of a man and woman with coins with titles like "The Banker and his Wife", "The Money Lender and his Wife", "The Money Changer and his Wife", etc.
This one was on the cover of the book Money in the Middle Ages by Jacques Le Goff, published in 2010.
:)
Yesterday we had a Museums Night here - about 40 museums and galleries were open between 7pm and 2am. And with a single ticket you could see all of them plus use three shuttle bus lines that connected them. So why not visit places that I usually do not find that interesting, such as a ceramics/pottery/porcelain museum?
Anyway, it was not dull at all. ;) Well, this exhibit was not most thrilling one but (surprise) it has to do with coins. Yeah, some big pot. With a bunch of ... coins?
This is a Zunftkanne, a guild or corporation pot that would be used for ceremonial guild meetings. Now the explanation did not say anything about which guild, but it was interesting to see how each of those little lions had a chain with a coin in the mouth ...
Christian
Since <k> just started a topic about Swiss coins, I remembered this topic ... and that the mint building in Bern also has some coins. I mean, outside. :) Images taken from this (https://www.swissmint.ch/d/downloads/dokumentation/numis_beri/Muenzstaette.pdf) Swissmint publication.
Christian
Quote from: Figleaf on July 17, 2011, 01:03:14 AM
Portrait of a young man by Sandro Botticelli (around 1474, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence). This medal was also identified: Cosimo de Medici, surrounded by the legend MAGNVS COSMVS MEDICES PPP. The maker of the medal was painter and engraver Niccolo Fiorentino. Some say the young man is Fiorentino himself.
Interesting quotes: The medallion itself, built of gilded pastiglia, is a three-dimensional object that is inserted into a hole cut in the very surface of the painting. and While the pseudomedallion is not actually made of metal, as a true medallion is*, it takes the exact form of one. It is quite large, but its scale is not necessarily unusual for the early modern period, considering that physical examples of medallions ranged significantly in size, from fitting easily within the palm of one's hand to spanning nearly five inches in diameter.
From:
A mnemonic reading of Boticelli's portrait of a man with a medal by Rebecca M. Howard, available here (https://www.academia.edu/39617863/A_Mnemonic_Reading_of_Botticellis_Portrait_of_a_Man_with_a_Medal?email_work_card=view-paper).
Peter
* since medallions can be made from non-metallic material, the argument that this is not a medallion is somewhat shaky.
I saw this painting by Marinus van Reymerswaele a week ago in Antwerp: The Taxman of the Town.
-- Paul
See reply #4. This is a variant on Reymerswaele's "two men in an office" series. One of the two is always looking like the bad guy, but I keep wondering about the other one. Is he a soulless, indifferent tax collector or a dedicated bookkeeper or (good hat!) the big boss, interested only in keeping the money flowing in?
Peter
Not fine art maybe but an interesting sketch depicting the weighing room at the Philadelphia Mint c1850. Here about 40 women worked weighing and filing any overweight planchets. They were paid 11 cents an hour for this tedious work, which was actually considered a good wage for the day.
Bruce
Weighing and other quality control tasks certainly, but filing? No files in sight and according to the mores of the day, filing would be a (better paid) man's job. The women-only room is no surprise. At this time, agriculture was progressively mechanised, causing a surplus of female labour in agricultural areas. Young, naive girls would move into big cities, looking for a job and a husband, not necessarily in that order. Many would end up lonely, in a tiny room and severely underpaid. You'll find the type in the stories of O Henry. Their counterpoint is the female welder of the second world war.
Peter
Quote from: Figleaf on February 08, 2020, 11:15:41 AM
Weighing and other quality control tasks certainly, but filing? No files in sight and according to the mores of the day, filing would be a (better paid) man's job. The women-only room is no surprise. At this time, agriculture was progressively mechanised, causing a surplus of female labour in agricultural areas. Young, naive girls would move into big cities, looking for a job and a husband, not necessarily in that order. Many would end up lonely, in a tiny room and severely underpaid. You'll find the type in the stories of O Henry. Their counterpoint is the female welder of the second world war.
Peter
The captions attached to the picture mentioned weighing and filing, but the filing could have been passed onto other workers. A majority of the planchets were probably of the correct weight or slightly under so no adjustments were needed.
It's interesting that on some of the old US silver coins, especially the silver dollars and half dollars, adjustment marks can still be seen under the strike. At times the coin's image didn't always flatten them out. The third party grading services don't consider them damage and won't lower the assigned grade.
The women in the weighing room worked 10 hour shifts, so would have to be very patient to do their tedious work. No wonder they always employed women, most men wouldn't have the patience to do it. I know I wouldn't. After a couple of hours, I'd run out into the street and jump in front of a horse cart. ;D
Bruce
Here's another interesting piece of art I ran across. Unfortunately, I don't know the artist's name. It depicts the use of a screw press c1760's. The person in the pit feeding the planchets into the machine had a hazardous job for sure.
Bruce
The picture is from the world's first encyclopedia, compiled by Diderot and d'Alembert. The original is not coloured. The engraving is not signed. It was probably done by Robert Bénard. For more pictures from the Encyclopédie (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A9die) see this thread (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,3481.0.html).
Peter
Quote from: Figleaf on February 08, 2020, 03:27:01 PM
The picture is from the world's first encyclopedia, compiled by Diderot and d'Alembert. The original is not coloured. The engraving is not signed. It was probably done by Robert Bénard. For more pictures from the Encyclopédie (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A9die) see this thread (http://www.worldofcoins.eu/forum/index.php/topic,3481.0.html).
Peter
I had a feeling someone would know something about the picture. Amazing the intelligence of the members of the forum. Thank you much.
Bruce
This morning I found an interesting article on Academia.edu (in English) about the Quentin Matsys painting that was presented at the start of this thread, taken from the Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 1915. It was written by Joanna Woodall (https://courtauld.ac.uk/people/joanna-woodall), and the title is 'De wisselaer. Quentin Matsys's Man weighing gold coins and his wife, 1514'. It's more than 35 pages and counts 105 footnotes. Some interesting remarks were added by readers.
The article also touches the identity of some of the coins, a.o. a gold écu of Louis XII of France, but interestingly also a Sicilian augustale (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustalis) of Frederick II Hohenstaufen (about 1230).
If you want to study the painting, here on Wikipedia (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Quentin_Massys_001.jpg) is an enlargeable picture. In the little detail I cut out here, the augustale is the farthest coin on the right.
-- Paul
With regard to the man in the pit in the engraving on reply 74, I believe there is a comment in Isaac Newton's papers from his time as Master of the Royal Mint to the effect that many of the workers were missing the tips of their fingers!
Alan
The France Marianne-Rooster coin appeared on a French World War One poster.
(http://www.brianrxm.com/posts/post_france_f20_1912.jpg)
France 20 francs 1912 Marianne-Rooster
(http://www.brianrxm.com/posts/post_poster_france_roostercoin.jpg)
French World War One poster with coin
The poster shows a French gold coin attacking a German soldier.
It was designed by Abel Faivre in 1915 and reads:
"Pour la France VERSEZ VOTRE OR" (For France, donate your gold)
"L'Or Combat Pour La Victoire" (The gold fights for Victory)
A work of art becomes part of another work of art.
:)
Quote from: Manzikert on March 06, 2020, 02:32:06 PM
With regard to the man in the pit in the engraving on reply 74, I believe there is a comment in Isaac Newton's papers from his time as Master of the Royal Mint to the effect that many of the workers were missing the tips of their fingers!
Alan
Both fingers and hands, Alan. Don't recall where I read that though.
Bruce
Quote from: Figleaf on August 29, 2018, 09:23:44 AM
Portuguese is unlikely. The bars at the end of the arms of the cross were either much larger and triangular or absent on Portuguese gold of this time. Also, Portuguese gold was not an international currency, so it would not often have been around in 17th century Leiden.
WRONG, Figleaf! I got the correct answer researching another story. The coin is a Portuguese gold cruzado, first issued in 1457, so much older than the painting. In its heyday, the Cruzado was an international trading coin. The cross is not the Portuguese cross, but the crusader's cross.
A more romantic way for the coin to end up in Leiden is that the Portuguese claimant to the throne, Sebastian I, held court in the Netherlands for a few years. He was quite welcome, as he was an enemy of Philip II of Spain. Philip had merged Portugal into his empire and was still trying to do the same with the Netherlands. Even more important, Sabastian had money to spend. His booty could well have contained gold cruzados and he would have been a buyer of Dutch art. Not that it's relevant here, but coins in Sebastian's name as well as imitations of Dutch and French coins were struck in the Netherlands.
Peter
Mostly unrelated side note – a very similar coin was issued just very few centuries later. ;) A "português" (10 cruzados) from around 1500 (Manuel I) but minted ten years ago (https://www.incm.pt/portal/loja_detalhe.jsp?lang=en&codigo=102161). Same cross ...
Christian
I am afraid the story in the ad is mostly commercial hot air. Don Manual I indeed had gold 10 cruzado coins minted. Gomes lists eight sub-types, none of which are exactly like the copy shown. The pricing in Gomes is a clear indication that the coins were produced in small quantities only: they are priced at €50 000 (Gomes 4th edition).
The story in the ad applies to the cruzado of 300 reis in Manuel's reign. Gomes lists 11 types and 16 sub-types, priced from €1500 to €5000. The latter coin was an internationally accepted means of payment in trade and diplomacy. It is likely to have surfaced in Leiden.
As noted above, it was first struck in 1457. I am not sure when they were last struck. They were possibly demonetised in the coinage reform of 1555 as Sebastian's own gold working horse coin is the escudo of 500 reis, based on the coinage law of 1560. Sebastian got chucked out in 1580. He ended up in the Netherlands a few years later. Lievens (1607-1674) would not have met him in person.
Peter
Quote from: Figleaf on April 22, 2021, 11:37:22 AM
I am afraid the story in the ad is mostly commercial hot air.
Not surprising, as this is a piece from a series of collector coins that "imitate" (or rather: are inspired) by historical examples. ;D I had merely noticed your comment regarding the cross, and was reminded of this modern piece ...
Christian
https://museumcrush.org/doug-fishbone-on-jews-and-money-at-the-jewish-museum/
.
Portrait of a Collector (about 1523), by Parmigianino (1503 - 1540). The National Gallery, London. Their description, slightly shortened.
An unknown collector is seated at a table, wearing a large black fur-lined coat and black hat. Parmigianino has painted out the original top contour of the hat to make it smaller – the original shape can still be seen through the overpaint. The man appears to be sitting in front of an open window through which a dark cloudy sky and brightly lit copse of trees can be seen. The main light source is from the front, but there is also light coming from the horizon casting an almost supernaturally bright golden glow on the relief sculpture and the leaves of the trees.
The sitter has an unusual expression, almost a sneer – his nostrils are flared, his lips pursed and forehead lined. His eyes do not fix on us but appear to be watching something slightly to our left. He is shown holding the so-called Durazzo Book of Hours by Francesco Marmitta, created about 20 years earlier (now in the Biblioteca Civica Berio, Genoa). Parmigianino has accurately represented the book's elaborately tooled metal cover, with red stones on the metal clasps. A broken fragment of a pseudo-antique relief of Venus and Cupid with Mars stands in the background. The 'antique' figures are constructed in Parmigianino's own sinuous style.
The sitter's right hand lies on the inlaid wooden table, on which rests a bronze statuette of a woman. She holds a baton or possibly a dagger which she points towards her abdomen. She may represent the Roman heroine Lucretia who stabbed herself to defend her honour. The bronze statuette was painted on top of the inlay on the table and the marquetry stripe now shows through the paint, which has become transparent with age. The antique objects surrounding the man reveal his tastes, while the Breviary in his hand attests to his faith.
Beside the statuette lie four ancient coins. There was considerable interest in ancient coins among collectors in Parma at this time. Three of the coins are bronze sestertii, but the third is made of silver. It is the depiction of a real coin – a denarius struck in Rome in 56 BC bearing the head of Ancus Marcius, the fourth king of Rome (reigned 642–617 BC).
Peter
Mrs Robert Hollond, by Arij Scheffer (1795 - 1858), The National Gallery, London.
Mrs Hollond (1822–1884), born Ellen Julia Teed, was the wife of the pioneering balloonist and MP Robert Hollond. She was a writer and philanthropist who lived for part of each year in Paris, where she held a salon that attracted intellectuals of a progressive cast of mind. She was also a well-known traveller and philanthropist who founded the first crèche in London and English nurses' homes in Paris and Nice.
Arij Scheffer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ary_Scheffer) was a painter who appealed to Mrs Hollond and her circle. In 1851, when Scheffer painted this formidable woman's portrait, he did not emphasise her status as a society figure – she could equally well be a Roman matron or a figure from the Bible. She looks sideways out of the picture with a soulful and poetic expression. The colour scheme is restrained, dominated by blue, pink and white. Scheffer aimed for and achieved a composition of eloquent simplicity in which Mrs Holland is depicted as a woman of feeling. The intimacy of the portrait suggests that this was a private commission.
Mrs Hollond is presented with studied simplicity – colours, setting, distracting clothing and jewellery are kept to a minimum to stress the soulfulness of her expression. She is posed outdoors under a clear blue sky, wearing a classicising gown and robe, with no jewellery other than a gold-coin bracelet.
I added a close-up of the bracelet, a bit of an outlier in a portrait otherwise pared down to essentials. As it is prominently shown, it was likely a favourite, perhaps a gift from a person she cared a lot for. By its position, the bracelet is becoming a symbol of wealth. Yet, it is made of gold coins, cheaper than an original design, so it also shows a degree of restraint.
I have included a close-up of the bracelet. There is not enough detail for me to identify the coins. All I can say is that they are likely all the same and French or British.
Peter
Those two last pictures are very fascinating. Parmigianino with his sneer and Arij Scheffer with the etherical woman! Both very unusual subjects / depictions.
-- Paul
This one is "art" only in a very broad sense. ;D But I found it interesting. You may know the Italian TV series Leo da Vinci. This animation series is aimed at kids and deals with the adventures and inventions of young (15 years or so) Leonardo.
In the second episode, Leo and his friends are faced with some mean guys who want to steal some "donum" coins. These are gold pieces given to people of Florence who, despite being poor, had been helpful to others. (Thanks for not asking me about the historical background - sure, the Medici family existed, but the rest ...) Anyway, in one scene "Leo" wins a silver replica of a donum coin for the best painting. The pieces shown resemble the fiorino d'oro coins.
Of course, thanks to one of Leo's inventions, the stolen coins make it back to Florence and can be given to the "helpful poor". Here is the episode (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaC2LjfgWUQ), in German and low quality. A description in English is here (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11521370/plotsummary). People who pay the German media fee (Rundfunkbeitrag) can watch the episode in better quality here (https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/leo-da-vinci/2-leo-und-die-muenze-der-medici/kika/Y3JpZDovL2hyLW9ubGluZS8xNjc0OTk) for example. Pretty much the same applies to Italy (https://www.raiplay.it/programmi/leodavinci); don't know about other countries. In any case, the episodes are for young people, and the "coins" are attached. ;D
Good copy. The legend +FLORENTIA is clear and looks genuine, but the metal is a screamingly obvious giveaway, of course. Don(at)um is a gift. While I can imagine a rich, happy and possibly not quite sober Florentine giving a gold piece to a beggar for some reason, I find it very difficult to imagine that it happened systematically.
Peter
Jan van Hemessen has been mentioned in this topic before; here is his "Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Unforgiving_Servant)". Emdebbed link below; if you look at the article, you can find the image in various sizes.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Jan_van_Hemessen_-_The_Parable_of_the_Unmerciful_Servant.jpg/800px-Jan_van_Hemessen_-_The_Parable_of_the_Unmerciful_Servant.jpg)
The funny thing is, I came across that one while looking for Croesus. ;D There is a painting by Claude Vignon that comes with this description: "Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, formerly called Croesus Receiving Tribute from a Lydian Peasant" ... Again, other sizes can be viewed from the article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Vignon) page.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Claude_Vignon_-_Parable_of_the_Unforgiving_Servant.jpg/640px-Claude_Vignon_-_Parable_of_the_Unforgiving_Servant.jpg)
I made an enlargement of the part with the coins. Almost all are unidentifiable. The exception is the silver coin just below the centre of the fragment catching more light than its monetary neighbours. It shows the climbing lion of Flanders.
Hermessen.jpg
Disregarding coins issued after the death of Jan Sanders van Hemessen, the latest reasonable sized silver coin with this design are the stuivers of Gent issued 1488-89, when the city was once again revolting against the Habsburgs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flemish_revolts_against_Maximilian_of_Austria#Second_revolt_(1487_-_1492)). The coin was therefore issued before the painter was born.
Vh H 202.jpeg
Jan Sanders would not live long enough to see the next anti-Habsburg revolt (1572), but he must have realised the tension, especially between the fiercely catholic Philip II (1555-1589) pursuing the policy of unifying the Habsburg lands and levying heavy taxes and his Flemish subjects, increasingly tilting towards protestantism, jealous of their rights, independent-minded and traders who would see taxes as undermining their ability to compete on global markets.
In that light, it is not far-fetched to see the only recognisable coin as a subtle statement of support for the locals and their resistance against the house of Habsburg.
Peter
Quote from: Figleaf on November 03, 2022, 05:41:58 PMIn that light, it is not far-fetched to see the only recognisable coin as a subtle statement of support for the locals and their resistance against the house of Habsburg.
Interesting! :like: Had not seen it "in that light" so to say.
A painting I saw the other day in the PAN art fair in Amsterdam. It was made by Johann Ulrich Mayr (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Ulrich_Mayr) (1630-1704), so probably second half of the 17th century. I couldn't make out details of the coins.
-- Paul
Mayr 1ww.jpg
Mayr 2ww.jpg
The rhyme is clarified in the description as follows:
Mayr 3ww.jpg
And the numismatic details:
Mayr 4 ww.jpg