A medallion is a round or oval ornament[1] that frames a sculptural or pictorial decoration in any context, but typically a façade, an interior, a monument, or a piece of furniture or equipment.
Ancient Roman round versions are called an imago clipeata, from the clipeus or Roman round shield.
This was a popular form of decoration in neoclassical architecture. The frame and portrait were carved as one, in marble for interiors, and in stone for exterior walls.
It is also the name of a scene that is inset into a larger stained glass window.
Gallery
The following gallery shows how medallions changed over time, from style to style, and how decorated or simple they were. Sometimes they were one of the key ornaments of a style, like the Louis XVI style of the 18th century and the Beaux Arts architecture of the Belle Époque. They also came in different shapes, not just circles and ovals. Many Art Deco medallions are octagonal, showing the use of angular and stylized shapes that characterize the style, inspired by Cubism. They also had different reliefs inside over time. For example, some medieval Moldavian churches are decorated with colourful medallions that feature animals and mythological creatures, while many oval Neoclassical ones feature profiles, inspired by Romancameos.
Baroque medallion on a ceiling in the high hall of the chapel of the Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France, unknown architect or sculptor, 17th century
Louis XVI style vase with a medallion, swans and Vitruvian scrolls, by Jean-Baptiste-Étienne Genest and the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, designed in 1766, produced in c.1767, soft-paste porcelain, Louvre
Louis XVI style medallion with a portrait relief on a vase with cover, by the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, c.1778, soft-paste porcelain, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Medallion on a Neoclassical stove in the principals' house of the Central Girls' School, Bucharest, unknown designer, 1890
Beaux Arts medallions on the 2nd floor meeting room of the Commerce and Industry Chamber Building (Rue Notre-Dame-des-Victoires), Paris, by Juste Lisch, 1891
Rococo Revival polychrome medallion on the facade of Beckershoffstraße no. 7, Mettmann, Germany, unknown architect, 1902
Art Nouveau fan decorated with irregularly-shaped medallions, made and sold by La Grande Maison de Blanc, 1902, paper, lithography, wood, metal, and gilding, Musée Galliera, Paris
Neo-Louis XVI style medallion above a door in Strada Arthur Verona no. 15, Bucharest, unknown architect, c.1910
Neo-Louis XVI style medallion on a stair railing of the Nicolae T. Filitti/Nae Filitis House (Calea Dorobanților no. 18), Bucharest, by Ernest Doneaud, c.1910[18]
Art Deco octagon-shaped medallion on a makeup cabinet, medallion by Alfred Janniot and cabinet by Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann, c.1929, varnished American walnut, gilded bronze and light oak interior, in a temporary exhibition called "1925, quand l'Art Déco séduit le monde" at the Architecture and Heritage City, Paris
^"Boulangerie". pop.culture.gouv.fr. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
^Façades Art Nouveau - Les Plus Beaux sgraffites de Bruxelles. [aparté]. 2005. p. 50. ISBN2-930327-13-8.
^Façades Art Nouveau - Les Plus Beaux sgraffites de Bruxelles. [aparté]. 2005. p. 194. ISBN2-930327-13-8.
^Façades Art Nouveau - Les Plus Beaux sgraffites de Bruxelles. [aparté]. 2005. p. 61. ISBN2-930327-13-8.
^Marinache, Oana (2015). Ernest Donaud - visul liniei (in Romanian). Editura Istoria Artei. p. 79. ISBN978-606-94042-8-7.
^Criticos, Mihaela (2009). Art Deco sau Modernismul Bine Temperat - Art Deco or Well-Tempered Modernism (in Romanian and English). SIMETRIA. p. 44. ISBN978-973-1872-03-2.
References
Bresc-Bautier, Geneviève (2008). The Louvre, a Tale of a Palace. Musée du Louvre Éditions. ISBN978-2-7572-0177-0.
Eastmond, Anthony (2013). The Glory of Byzantium and early Christendom. Phaidon. ISBN978-0-7148-4810-5.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Medallions.