In this artwork, how is the Franco-Burgundian culture of the Influences on the creation of Pisanello's medal elucidated?
In Northern Italian city-states like Ferrara, the literary culture of high society in the early fifteenth century was more French than Italian, hence there was a strong culture of chivalry in these areas. Pisanello's medal reflects this culture in its portrayal of John as a huntsman. Hunting was regarded as a noble activity in Italy and was a central ingredient in medieval Romance literature. Franco-Burgundian art in particular celebrated the hunt and certain images of animals by Pisanello are thought to have derived from miniatures from the canonical version of the Livre de Chasse by Gaston Phoebus.
The reverse of the medal is similar in many respects to Pisanello's Vision of St Eustace. This painting also presents a huntsman on horseback arrested by the sight of a cross and it contains animals that seem to have derived from illuminations in French hunting treatises.The similarity between John and St Eustace in Pisanello's respective representations could signify the artist's attempt to present John as a modern St Eustace.
Ferrara Gaston Phoebus chivalry Vision of St Eustace Pisanello medal