Artis (Vereniging voor Penningkunst 1930, first medal)

The annual report for 1929 notes that Tjipke Visser was asked if he would design an 'ornamental medal'. This term was used for the first time to distinguish it from the commemorative medal; 1930 was not an anniversary year for Artis.

Visser, a pupil of Mendes da Costa and Allebé, had already been using animals as an independent medium for sculpture for years, and here drew inspiration from cranes. Because of their elegant lines, these splendid and agile birds were a very popular motif in Art Nouveau, which had in turn adopted it from the Japonism flourishing in the 19th century. In Japan, they are the symbol of eternally regenerating nature, as according to popular belief they live for a thousand years.

The necks are too thick and too short, but the shape of the birds follows the circular form well. On the reverse it reads: 'Tueamur exempla naturae intactae'. Let us preserve the examples of untouched nature. A motto chosen by the director of Artis, Dr A.L.J. Sunier. It was still the time when one could assume that the members of the Society for the Art of the Medal knew their classical languages. The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, holds this object as NG-C-2017-12-1; its record gives material recorded as bronze (metal); technique striking (metalworking); measurements diameter 6 cm x weight 89 g.

Description translated from the museum's Dutch catalogue text; details are those of this museum object, and how far it represents a wider type has not been independently verified.