Nicolas de Lange, 1525-1606, Jurisconsult, Antiquarian, and Numismatist [obverse] 1603

This bronze medal portraying Nicolas de Lange was made in the early 17th century by Philippe Lalyame. As the inscription indicates, Lange was a man of many parts: a lawyer, an expert in antiquities, and a numismatist or collector of currency. The medal’s design gives us some insight into the social context of its making. Notice the crisp, deliberate lines, produced by a process of striking the metal with a die. It speaks to the mechanization of image production, the rise of specialized craftspeople like Lalyame, and the creation of a market for these coveted objects. The repetitive beaded pattern around the edge is another indication of this industrial approach. The very concept of the portrait medal reflects a transition in power, too. This wasn’t just an image of a ruler, or a religious icon. This was a representation of a scholarly individual, who was literally being rendered into metal, thereby cementing his legacy for posterity. This beautiful object exemplifies how materials, making, and context are crucial to understanding an artwork's full meaning, blurring distinctions between art and craft.