THIS ISSUE of The Medal draws attention to two specific medals and twospecific medallists. In doing so, it ranges from the seventeenth to the twenty-first century.

Dynastic marriages between princely houses are a recurring theme inEuropean history, and many of them are recorded in medals. Rarely, however,can an alliance of this sort have been commemorated with a medal as intricatein its workmanship and rich in its symbolism as that devised by the German-born Sebastian Dadler for the marriage in 1642 of Prince William of Orange,the future stadtholder of the Netherlands, and Princess Mary, daughter of KingCharles I of Great Britain. Using contemporary texts and Dutch prints, GilmanParsons examines this medal in all its stunning complexity, his aim being toallow us to read the medal as it would have been understood at the time of itsproduction.

A medal by one of France's greatest medallists, Eugène Oudiné, based ona painting by one of the country's greatest painters, Jean Auguste DominiqueIngres, is the subject of Tanya Szrajber's article. The painting, The Apotheosisof Napoleon I, no longer exists. Installed in the Hôtel de Ville, Paris's city hall,it was destroyed in 1871 during the tumultuous months of the Paris Commune.Accordingly, its appearance is known only through other works in variousmedia in both two and three dimensions. Among these is Oudiné's medal,which itself exists in different forms. In her article Szrajber disentangles theavailable information to provide an account of how and when this medal cameinto being and thereby allowed Ingres's composition to live on in a form towhich, as has previously been remarked, it was so admirable suited.

The two medallists whose work is highlighted here are both Dutch.Although in many ways they are very different from each other, there are someintriguing connections. Ferenc Matits looks at some of the works of ElisabethVarga, who died in 2011, considering them from a Hungarian perspective - aparticularly appropriate approach given the artist's family background. AsMatits shows, Varga worked in various media and was as adept at large-scalepieces as at medals. Linda Verkaaik also works on a wide range of scales and invarious materials. In his discussion of her work, Karel Soudijn demonstratesvery clearly the close connections between Verkaaik's medals and her muchlarger works, draws out some of the themes that link them all, and offerscompelling interpretations. As he explains, in the case of Verkaaik meaningskeep expanding.

Two other contemporary medallists should also be mentioned here, for, asusual, BAMS is announcing in this issue its two latest medals. Known well toreaders of The Medal, Bulgarian artist Bogomil Nikolov has added to his largebody of work by producing for us a medal that addresses the uncertainties oftoday's world and the hopes we all share. Meanwhile, in his first ever medalBritish artist David Snoo Wilson draws on his experience of the birch forests ofSweden to make a somewhat unsettling comment on our place in the naturalworld. Two very different medals for BAMS members to add to theircollections...

CONTENTS

Editorial: Two and two

Sebastian Dadler's Arrival of Princess MaryA case study in Baroque iconography
Gilman Parsons

Eugène Oudiné's renditions of Ingres's Apothéose de Napoléon Ier
Tanya Szrajber

In memory of Elisabeth VargaA personal reflection
Ferenc Matits

Linda Verkaaik's narrative medals
Karel Soudijn

Martin Folkes 1690-1754: Newtonian, antiquary, connoisseur, byAnna Maria Roos
William Eisler

Publications noted

News

Medals from BAMS

For more information about the British Art Medal Society, see:
https://bams.org.uk/