1854 John Flaxman Art Union of London Bronze Medal
Large bronze medal with a portrait of John Flaxman (1755-1826), the noted draftsman and sculptor. Flaxman was the son of a maker of plaster casts and through his farther was introduced to a number of contemporary artist including George Romney and William Blake. He won Royal Academy prizes for his medallic work in his early teens, worked for the potter Josiah Wedgwood and began a good line in sculpting elaborate grave monuments. HI works are today held in many public collections and his influence felt through the illustrations he produced on an extended trip to Italy, beginning in 1787. As a leading proponent of neoclassicism you can see his influence in the early work of the medallist and Chief Engraver to the Royal Mint, William Wyon, who was his pupil briefly. The obverse of this medal, produced decades after Flaxman’s death, shows a left-facing portrait bust of the sculptor, engraved by Henry Weigall whose name is inscribed below. The reverse, also attributed to Weigall shows a bas-relief rendering of an illustration of Flaxman’s for an edition of Hesiod’s Work and Days, titled ‘Mercury and Pandora’. The figure of Mercury, below, bears Pandora aloft above a landscape, their billowing clothing creating a sense of movement. This medal is from an extended series commissioned by the Art Union of London, beginning in 1842. Silver medals were awarded as prizes to encourage the art of die-engraving but bronze editions, featuring the images of famous British artists, were available to subscribers. This is a nice example with a deep chocolate brown patina and the smallest of rim knocks. It comes in a modern box. Weight: 87.4 grams, diameter, 55.7 millimetres. System.Threading.Tasks.Task`1[System.String] System.Threading.Tasks.Task`1[System.String]