In the context of this artwork, discuss the Humanism and Ancient Rome of the Influences on the creation of Pisanello's medal.
It is probable that Pisanello's portrait medals were cast with the intention of reviving the form of ancient coins. Pisanello's medal of John can be firmly located within a period when the court at Ferrara was witnessing an escalation in the appreciation of classical learning. Niccolò III d’Este was the first lord of Ferrara to be educated by a Renaissance humanist and in 1429 he invited the humanist scholar, Guarino da Verona, to tutor his son Leonello. Leonello cultivated a strong admiration for writers like Cicero. During his reign in the 1440s he resolved to revitalise the Studium of Ferrara by recruiting more humanist scholars to work there. Part of this appreciation gave rise to the study of ancient coins: these were the most enduring and abundant artefacts available from antiquity and Leonello himself was an enthusiastic numismatist. Pisanello's own personal interest in Roman coins is vividly apparent from his drawings of them, and his successful development of the portrait medal as a medium of sculpture can be explained in part to its similarity to coins. The medal evoked a powerful link to antiquity which made it very appealing to patrons.It has been suggested that Leon Battista Alberti may have played a significant role in Pisanello's conception of the medal of John. Alberti attended the Council in Ferrara as a member of the papal Curia and could therefore have encountered Pisanello. Between 1430 and 1435, Alberti cast a bronze, self-portrait plaque in a style that was clearly influenced by Roman imperial portraits. Alberti's plaque was the first labeled self-portrait of an artist.
Renaissance humanist Ferrara Guarino da Verona Leon Battista Alberti lord of Ferrara papal Curia Pisanello medal