ADDITIONAL REMARKS ON A
PORTRAIT MEDAL OF PARACELSUS Dated 1541.
BY
F. P.
WEBER,
M.D., F.S.A.
REPRINTED FROM THE "NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE," Vol. XV., Third Seeies, Pages 154—160.
LONDON 1895.
ADDITIONAL REMARKS ON A PORTRAIT MEDAL OF PARACELSUS DATED 1541.
Fig.
In the Numismatic pp. 60
—71)
Chronicle,
1.
1893 (3rd
Series, vol. xiii.,
I gave an account of a portrait-medal of
my possession, dated 1541 (see Fig. 1). At had not seen the two copperplate engravings
Paracelsus in that tunc
T
a
2
A
PORTRAIT MEDAL OF PARACELSUS.
of Paracelsus dated respectively 1540 and 1538 (see Figs.
2
&
These two engravings, together with the medal, and perhaps some of the other medals, probably furnish us 3).
with the most authentic portraits of Paracelsus extant.
^
.
."<;;>â&#x20AC;˘
sit Qvr svvs.gfSfc
Fig.
The
portrait on the medal,
poto
r
^
-2.
da#ed 1541, whether
made
before or after the death of Paracelsus in that year, does
not appear to be a mere copy of the portrait on the en-
graving dated 1540, for in the medal the
lines
on the
forehead of Paracelsus are more sharply marked than
in
the engraving, and there Altogether,
dress.
3
PORTRAIT MEDAL OF PARACELSUS.
A
some slight
is
difference in his
the two engravings and the medal
give us a series of portraits of Paracelsus during the last years of his
who
It
life.
know
original of the latter of
which
the artists of these likenesses were.
The two engravings, an in the Print
is
to
would indeed be interesting
Room
Museum,
of the British
are both
apparently from the same hand, and are both signed witli the
monogram
been maintained by Joseph
It has
Heller {Praktisches Handbuc.h fur Kupferstichsammler, 2nd
monogram
1850, p. 311) that the
ed., Leipzig,
Numbers
Ausrustin Hirschvo°;el of
.
medal might actually be by the same baud,
for
Ilirschvogel, as well as being an engraver,
draughtsman,
and
probably
The following
modelling:.
is
also
was
Augustin
was a good
1
(?
with
familiar
a short account of his
Augustin Hirschvogel, or Hirsvogel
came
stands for
If this were so the
1
1503
of a family long settled at jSiirnberg,
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
?
life.
1560),
and formerly
His father (died 1525) was the glass painter,
wealthy.
Veit Ilirschvogel, but he
is
said to
have excelled his
father in glass painting, and became the most famous of his brothers.
He
an enameller in
He and
travelled is
was a good draughtsman, an engraver,
colours,
much, and in Venice studied antique
made copies of antique vases. His goldsmith's work exist, and he is said also to
gem
have trained himself in See
art,
said to have
designs for
1
a glass painter, and a potter.
G. Doppelmayr,
engraving.
He
studied
von den NiirnNiirnberg, 1730, fol. p. 199 ; Joseph Bergmann, Medaillen atlf beriihmte und cmst/ezeichnete Manner des Oesterreichischen Kaiserstaates, Vienna, 1884, vol. i., pp. 280â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 295; Friedrioh Jaenuicke, Grundnns der Kermnilc, Stuttgart, 1879, p. 44G; G. K. Nagler's EunstlerLexicon, vol. vi., p. 191. J.
bergischen
JTistorinche Nachricht
Matliematids mid.
Kilnstlern,
A PORTRAIT MEDAL OF PARACELSUS.
4
mathematics, and wrote a book on Perspective, &c. medal with his portrait is figured by Doppelmayr
XIV.) and by Joseph Bergmann. glazed pottery
name from
known
The old
as " Hirschvogel
A (PI.
German
ware " derives
its
this family of Niirnberg.
Unfortunately,
great doubt
Fig.
remains
as
to
the real
3.
authorship of the two engravings attributed to Augustin Hirschvogel.
The monogram
vogel's usual signature, his, it
/\\ is certainly
and even
if
the
not Hirsch-
monogram were
appears that he did not engrave the copperplates
himself (see G. K. Nagler, Die Monogrammisten, p. 322).
One
fact,
vol.
i.,
however, appears certain, namety, that
the author of these two
engravings of Paracelsus was
A PORTRAIT MEDAL OF PARACELSUS.
engraving of Dr. Johannes
the author of an
likewise
Fabricius, of Salzburg, in 1540 (Nagler, op.
This makes
was
it
on the two engravings
may
at Salz-
The
likeness
then be accepted as authentic,
and one must therefore admit on the
oil
also the similar likenesses
painting of the town library at Niirnberg (Prof.
und Abbildungen
Carl Aberle, Grabdenkmal, Schadel
Theophrastus Paracelsus, Salzburg, 1891,
on the op.
oil
cit.,
p. 323).
was temporarily
1540 and saw Paracelsus himself.
in
cit.,
probable that, whoever he was, the artist
either living at Salzburg or
burg
5
p.
painting in the
Museum
at
p. 382,
des
No. 45),
Salzburg (Aberle,
388, No. 50), on the medal in
my
possession,
and on other medals with a similar portrait of Paracelsus.
How much
less
claim to authenticity most of the other
may be gathered by Aberle {op. cit.), who
types of portraits of Paracelsus possess,
an examination of the work of Prof. C.
has most carefully collected together descriptions of the extant portraits, and classified them into types. correctness of the likeness (Aberle, op.
cit.,
PI. II., fig. 3)
on the engravings by Wentzel Hollar (1607 can be after
said,
For the
â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 1677)
little
even supposing that the engraving was made
some now unknown
oil
painting by Rembrandt.
Rubens' s painting and the engravings by Sompel, Gaywood, &c, after Rubens, give an equally untrustworthy likeness of Paracelsus (Aberle, op.
cit.,
PI. II.,
fig.
4),
although a painting of the sixteenth century with a similar portrait
is
present unknown).
said to exist (in
The supposed
by Tintoret (Aberle, doubt;
it
whose possession
is
at
portrait of Paracelsus also
open to
was engraved by F. Chauveau as the
frontis-
op.
cit.,
PI.
III.)
is
piece to the Latin edition of the collective works of Paracelsus,
published at Geneva,
painting
is
not
now known
in
1658.
to exist.
The
origiiuil
If this portrait
A PORTRAIT MEDAL OF 1'ARACELSUS.
(i
really represents Paracelsus,
portrait
dated
must have been
it
siderably earlier period of his
was born
whan
Jacopo Pobusti,
at Venice, in 1512,
Aberle suggests that, as a boy he of Paracelsus,
than that at which the
life
1538 represents him.
called Tintoretto,
at a con-
and Prof.
may have made
a sketch
the latter was surgeon in the Venetian
army, and that in later years, when Paracelsus became a
more famous man, he may have painted a the sketch.
Chauveau's plate
Sculpsit, I.
Tintoret ad
signed, " F. Chauveau,
is
vivum
from
portrait
pinxit."
It is possible
now
that Chauveau copied his likeness from some portrait lost sight of, really
made
" ad vivum " by Tintoret, though
the identification in Chauveau's time of the portrait as one
may have been
of Paracelsus
a mistake.
There exists a portrait of Paracelsus representing him
man, namely the
as a middle-aged
oil
painting belonging
which
to the Historical Society of St. Gallen,
authentic,
IV.,
fig.
and bears the date 1529 (Aberle,
With
11).
is
said to be
op. cit., PI.
this doubtful exception, the only
authentic likenesses of Paracelsus are the above-mentioned engravings,
him
paintings, and medals representing
oil
in the years 1538, 1540,
and 1541, and
later copies
of these portraits.
In conclusion I may mention that
I
have not yet heard
of the existence of another medal exactly like the one in
my
possession.
This
is
not very surprising.
teenth centmy, in Germany, probably
many
In the
of the gold-
smiths and engravers occasionally modelled medals, this
was not
their usual
consider the medal in artist
employment.
question as a
six-
when
I feel inclined to trial-piece
by an
not usually employed in making medals, and this
would account
for only one example,
being at present known.
From
and that in
Prof. C.
lead,
Aberle's book
7
A PORTRAIT MEDAL OK PARACELSUS. (op.
I
cit.)
have derived great assistance, and have
thank Mr. Lionel Oust, formerly of the British
to
Museum
Room, hut now Director of the National Portrait Gallery, for in formal ion concerning the engravings of Print
Paracelsus.
Illustrations. 1, reprinted from the Num. Chron., 1893, medal of Paracelsus in my possession.
Figure
Obv.
—
THKOPHRASTVS PARACELSVS •
p. 60, is the
•
A°
1541
Half-length figure, facing, of Paracelsus, with his
head slightly inclined to the spectator's right hand. The face is without hair and the lines are very harshly expressed ; the top of the head is bald. He is dressed in a loose gown fastened From his neck an by a girdle around the waist. amulet (?) is suspended by a thin cord, and with his hands he grasps the handle of a large twohanded sword.
No
reverse.
Diameter, 3"1 inches
;
cast
;
lead.
Figure 2 is a reduced copy of the engraving of 1540, taken with permission from the example in the British Museum. The portrait of Paracelsus is similar to that on the medal, but bis head is inclined in the contrary direction, and the lines on the face are less harshly expressed.
Figure 3
is
a reduced copy of the engraving of 1538.
The
on the later print of 1540, but the oust only is represented, and his head is in profile to right. No amulet is suspended from the neck. Figure 3 is taken from PI. V« in Prof. C. Aberle's book (op. cit.), since the British Museum only possesses a woodcut, somewhat varied from the original engraving. portrait of Paracelsus is similar to that