Portrait medals north of the Alps

Medal art was originally practised only in Italy, but from 1500 onward princes north of the Alps, too, began producing «show talers» in their mints. They served the purpose of self-representation and were regarded as noble gifts, but they were not used as money.

Humanists such as Willibald Pirckheimer (1517) and Erasmus of Rotterdam (1519) soon followed their example, using them as gifts and as objects of learned discussion. From 1518 onward, sculptors like Hans Schwarz, Friedrich Hagenauer, Mathes Gebel and Jakob Stampfer created numerous portrait medals for princes, noblemen and leading citizens, with the result that medals quickly became fashionable.

The sharp contours of the medals referred to as «Contrafect» or «Bildnus-Müntz» are a result of their having been produced from wooden or stone moulds, whereas in Italy wax remained the preferred modelling material.