Niccolo Fiorentino and the image of humanism: Portrait medals in late quattrocentro Florence (Italy)

Niccolo di Forzore Spinelli, called Niccolo Fiorentino (1430--1514), is widely regarded as Florence's finest portrait medallist, and perhaps the greatest portraitist working in medals in any period, yet he remains virtually unknown. Over one hundred fifty medals are attributed to his workshop based on the style of five signed medals, but the details regarding his life and training remain almost completely obscure. This project has uncovered an abundance of new documents on the Spinelli family which shed light on the artist's background, and the ambience in which he lived and was trained. Published literature rarely describes an art market without specific patrons, but I suggest that Niccolo Fiorentino's medals indicate that a sliding scale accommodated the financial resources and personal aesthetics of his clientele.; My dissertation has three central objectives. First, I attempt to differentiate between those medals by Niccolo Fiorentino's hand, and those probably modeled and cast by assistants. Second, I investigate various innovations in Fiorentino's work that relate to larger issues of portraiture, humanism, epigraphy, and the relationship between medals and mass production media, such as moveable type printing, and inherently reproducible objects. Third, I discuss the artist's workshop and possible collaborators, and a rarely explored facet of the Renaissance art market: the existence of a less formal relationship between patron and artist that allowed for the production and purchase of prefabricated or partially "ready-made" objects. A complete catalogue, with plates and related figures, is provided for all Niccolo Fiorentino's medals, and those relegated to his workshop. Additionally, an Appendix reproduces the majority of documents related to the artist's family.