Figure of Inspiration at an Easel [reverse]

Felice Antonio Casone

National Gallery of Art

Cast in low relief, a woman with hair streaming wildly up and away from her face and wearing a gag covering her mouth sits and paints at an easel on this round bronze medallion. The woman faces our left in profile on a chair with a scrolling back and arms. She wears a long gown with loose, elbow-length sleeves. One foot is braced against the foot of the easel, and the other rests on the floor near a rectangular paint palette and paint brushes. The woman rests a maulstick down in front of her legs and holds a paintbrush up to the surface on the easel. Text in a border around the edge of the medal reads, “PERTE STATO GIOIOSO MIMANTENE.” Spiraling scrolls, a compass, and a square are at the bottom center of the border.