Gaspard Schetz, heer van Grobbendonk 1569

This is a small bronze medal of Gaspard Schetz, Heer van Grobbendonk, created by Jacques Jonghelinck. The circular form is immediately striking, creating a sense of enclosure and focus on the central images. The medal's structure is divided into two distinct sides. One features a high-relief profile of Gaspard Schetz, meticulously detailed. The other presents a symbolic hourglass, a vanitas motif, emphasizing the passage of time, placed within a circular frame of text. The composition prompts a semiotic reading: Schetz's portrait signifies status and identity, while the hourglass serves as a memento mori, reminding viewers of life's transience. The circular shape and the contrasting imagery create a binary opposition between representation and symbolic abstraction. This contrast destabilizes any fixed reading, inviting continuous interpretation. The medal does not convey a singular message; instead, it embodies a complex interplay between form, symbolism, and the observer's interpretive act.