Renaissance, Medal For Henry Ii

 
Medal for Henri II
Attributed to Étienne Delaune, after 1552  
Gilded bronze casting  
Diameter: 54 mm  

Obverse: 
HENRICVS · II · GALLIARVM REX INVICTISS P P ·
The bust of the king, crowned with a laurel wreath, faces right. He is wearing a damascened cuirass with a small ruff protruding from the gorget.  

Reverse:
OB RES IN ITAL · GERM · ET GAL · FORTITER AC FOELIC · GESTAS
A quadriga advances to the right, with trophies of arms scattered on the ground. Victory and Abundance sit at the rear of the chariot, holding a cornucopia and a palm leaf. Fame drives the chariot while blowing a trumpet. Beneath the chariot: EX VOTO PVB 1552.  

Étienne Delaune (Orléans 1518–Strasbourg 1583) was a designer and engraver whose highly precise style was influenced by the art of Primaticcio, which he encountered at Fontainebleau. He engraved works by several artists of the French Renaissance on copper. Appointed engraver at the Monnaie du Moulin in 1552, he also created designs used for the chiseling of Henri II’s armor. After the king’s death, Delaune fell out of favor with the authorities. A Protestant, he fled to Strasbourg in 1572 after the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.