100861 | GREAT BRITAIN. Sir Joshua Reynolds bronze Medal.

100861 | GREAT BRITAIN. Sir Joshua Reynolds bronze Medal. Issued 1845. Art Union of London series: The Infant Hercules Strangling Serpents in His Cradle (57mm, 101.47 g, 12h). By A. J. Stothard.

 

REYNOLDS, bare head left; palette and paint brushes below / ART UNION OF LONDON, The Herakliskos Drakonopnigon: the infant Hercules seated in his cradle, strangling two serpents. Edge: A few marks as made, otherwise plain.

 

BHM 2207; Eimer 1399. Choice Mint State. Warm brown surfaces, with pleasing underlying brilliance; a few light marks noted only for completeness.

 

Knighted by King George III in 1769, Sir Joshua Roberts was a celebrated painter known for promoting the "Grand Style," in which the imperfect was idealized. The founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts, one of his more famous paintings was The Infant Hercules, believed to be a preparatory sketch for a painting commissioned by Yekaterina II Velikaya (Catherine II 'the Great'), and draws upon classical motifs on coins such as Kroton and Thebes featuring the Herakliskos Drakonopnigon.

 

Sorry, this item is no longer available.