Ulrich Pfisterer, Lysippus und seine Freunde. Liebesgaben und Gedächtnis im Rom der Renaissance oder: Das erste Jahrhundert der Medaille. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2008. 490 pages with 10 colour plates and 167 b&w illustrations, catalogue continuously illustrated in b&w. Clothbound. Thread stitching. 17.5 x 24.5 cm. ISBN 978-3-05-004314-2. Euros 79.80.
November 20, 2009 – The book “Lysippus und seine Freunde“ is essentially a catalogue of works of the die cutter Lysippus the Younger alias Hermes Flavius de’ Bonis who created numerous Renaissance medals. This is but only one aspect of the comprehensive book, which is a detailed monograph on the history of the medal in the first century after its introduction. It is about friendship between men and artists, about homosexuality and its sublimation through poetry, about charitable gifts and their design, in short about many elements of a Renaissance artist’s world hitherto not very well known.
Anybody dealing with the medals of Lysippus needs this book for identification. And he who takes the times to read the entire text carefully will see the medals from a different angle