Medal, portrait of Violante Beatrice of Bavaria, Florence, ca. 1723-1725

The medal shows the profile bust of Violante Beatrice di Baviera (1673-1731), wife of the Grand Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici, portrayed in refined robes and a princely hairstyle. A lover, like her husband, of the arts and entertainment, Violante continued even after becoming a widow to play a central role as patron and promoter of these artistic endeavours.

Medals did not remain excluded from her interests, as is suggested by the existence of several medals bearing her portrait. The present medal, produced by Lorenzo Maria Weber, was likely commissioned by the princess, who donated a cast to Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni when she went to Rome in 1725 (Lankheit 1962, p. 243, doc. 52). Another medal with her portrait was cast a few years earlier, around 1713, by Antonio Montauti (see Museum no. A.19-1979). The reverse of the present medal depicts the allegorical figures of the river Arno, representative of Florence, and the river Arbia, alluding instead to Siena.

On the left, the Arno allegory is depicted according to the traditional iconography: a man with a long beard, almost naked, lying with one elbow on an urn from which water is flowing and accompanied by the Florentine Marzocco (the lion). On the right, a beautiful young female girl, in a light garment that leaves on of her breasts uncovered, also holding an urn with flowing water, represents the Arbia River. At her side a nimble she-wolf (symbol of Siena) rises on her hind paws, resting her forepaws on the maiden’s thigh and stretching her muzzle towards the latter. With this allegorical figuration, Lorenzo Maria Weber succeeded in celebrating Vittoria not only as Princess of Tuscany, but in her specific role as Governess of Siena, an appointment given to her in 1717 by Grand Duke Cosimo III de' Medici, her father-in-law.

Lorenzo Maria Weber (1696-1768) was a Florentine sculptor best known for being the successor to Massimiliano Soldani Benzi as director of the Florentine Mint (from 1740) and for his work as a medallist. After an initiation to the arts within his family, Weber began his formal training by studying disciplines such as geometry, architecture, perspective and mathematics ( Plasmato dal fuoco 2019, p. 269). His first apprenticeship took place in the workshop of Giovan Battista Foggini. He then passed from 1720 onwards under the wing of Soldani Benzi, the leader of medallic art in the Grand Duchy, at whose workshop he was able to perfect his skills in medal-making and cone carving. Medal, bronze.

Obverse: Violante Beatrice of Bavaria, wife of the Grand Prince Ferdinando de’ Medici, portrayed in profile to the right, in stately and drapes clothes. Her hair is gathered in a bun, surrounded by a braid and a thin veil that falls lightly down to the back. The hairstyle is further decorated with a jewelled headband and a crown. Reverse: On the left is the personification of the Arno. It is portrayed as a naked male figure with a long beard lying with his elbow resting on an urn from which water flows out and holding an oar in his left hand. Next to him is the lion, the so-called Marzocco, symbol of the city of Florence. On the right, a female figure representing the Sienese river Arbia is portrayed in the act of pointing to the Arno with her outstretched right arm.

The woman, dressed in a light robe that leaves one of her breasts uncovered, is seated on a pile of rocks, with an urn in her arms from which water flows, and with a she-wolf nearby that rests its paws on her thigh. Bought, 6s.