Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00010761Medal of Anne of Austria (reverse)
by Jean Warin
About the Artwork
Jean Warin was the foremost medalist in 17th-century France. As the chief designer of coins, his relationship with King Louis XIII was exceptionally close; he convinced the king that commemorative medals were the most important artistic medium for propaganda. Warin revolutionized the production of medals by introducing the raised edge, allowing greater ease in striking medals. This change fueled the shift from casting medals to the more recently invented process of striking, or pressing medals from a die. This work is one of many he composed of Queen Anne of Austria (1601–1666). Although she was born in Spain as the Infanta, or princess, of Spain and Portugal, her title "of Austria" refers to her Hapsburg heritage as well as her title of Archduchess of Austria. The reverse depicts a blooming lily, a symbol of France, and is inscribed "its glories in its divine nourishment," referring to her son, the adolescent King Louis XIV.
Inscriptions
inscribed: DIVA.SE.IACTAT.ALVMNA. .1660. [This translates as "It glories in its divine nourishment," which refers to the young King, Louis XIV (lily). The fleur-de-lis had long been the chief royal symbol of France.]
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Jean Warin (French, 1604–1672)
- Date
- 1660
- Medium
- bronze
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 6 cm (2 3/8 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Accession no.
- 1987.195.b
More by Jean Warin in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00010761
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