Medal of Leon Battista Alberti
by PASTI, Matteo de', Cast bronze, diameter 9 cm
A warm relationship existed between Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472), an Italian architect and Renaissance humanist polymath, and Matteo de’ Pasti, the medalist. The design of this medal was probably a collaborative effort. Clearly the reverse, a winged eye surrounded by a laurel wreath and the accompanying motto, was Alberti’s invention.