• Cardinal Pietro Bembo, Bronze Medal

 

Cardinal Pietro Bembo (1470-1538-1547), humanist and writer, Bronze Medal, bearded bust right wearing hooded robe, PETRI BEMBI CAR, rev Pegasus rearing on the Hippocrene fountain, 56.2 (Arm I, 146,1; Pollard 562; Kress 484; Currency of Fame 64, this piece). An extremely fine and original cast. Believed by some scholars, including Pope-Henessy, to be the work of Celini, the problems concerning the attribution of this medal remain unsolved. It may be that the present medal is based on the one that Celini describes as his own but is reworked either by Celini himself or another artist. Bembo was a humanist and writer celebrated for his clarity of style and his skill in linguistic expression, thus Pegasus is the subject of the reverse because of his association with fame and because the Hippocrene Fountain springs from Mount Helicon, home of the Muses.