Medal of Major General Z. Taylor 1848

Curator: Here we have Charles Cushing Wright’s bronze relief sculpture from 1848, “Medal of Major General Z. Taylor," housed here at the Met. It commemorates a resolution of Congress on May 9th. What's your initial impression? Editor: The object’s somber tone and color speak of memorial and gravity. It's an interesting decision to render a portrait in such a weighty medium. The bronze asserts permanence. Curator: Exactly. Wright was a skilled die sinker and medallist. The crispness of the relief is quite remarkable. Note how the laurel wreath frames the portrait, a classic allusion to victory and honor. The composition cleverly balances the weight of the inscription with the central figure. Editor: Yes, but bronze also implicates production. Who mined this material? What was the labor involved in creating the die, striking the medal? And how would the recipient have received and understood such an honorific object amidst political struggles? I wonder how widely such a medal might have circulated, impacting Taylor’s broader legacy through a more tangible means. Curator: A valid point, as this medium would've allowed it to circulate and to potentially reach a far broader audience than, say, a painted portrait. But also consider the artist's technique: the way Wright has used light and shadow to define Taylor's features is very effective. He’s given him a very noble profile. Editor: It’s also telling how the laurel is rendered so carefully—likely through painstaking work. The contrast of hard metal molded into soft, organic forms… it speaks to nature subjugated through industrial means in a sense, even while valorizing a general's status. It would have been intriguing to experience the tactile sensation of holding such a weighty object in your hand, experiencing how value can become a function of material reality. Curator: An insightful observation regarding form, texture, and content that moves me to appreciate more fully the relationship of figure to ground as we complete our own viewing journey. Editor: Indeed; by pondering not only Wright's aesthetic, but his techniques, the artwork opens a view into an object of great artistic value as well as material cultural impact during the early Republic era.