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
Roman cameos. Θεσσαλονίκη - Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο 1393.jpg|
Ancient Greek medallion on a handle of the
Derveni Krater, 370 BC, bronze and silver. Sword of Tiberius 02 (51221000751).jpg|
Roman medallion on the scabbard of the
Sword of Tiberius, 15 AD, gilded bronze,
British Museum Musée de l'Arles antique, Arles, France (16192263861) (2).jpg|Roman shell-shaped medallion on a sarcophagus of a married couple, early 4th century, marble,
Musée de l'Arles antique,
Arles, France Achillesplatte Augusta Raurica.jpg|Roman medallion on a plate from the silver treasure of
Augusta Raurica, mid 4th century, silver,
Augusta Raurica Museum, near
Augusta Raurica,
Switzerland Arte romana, capitello con clipeo 02.JPG|Roman medallion on a
capital, unknown date, stone,
Cerreto Guidi, Italy Battistero di s. giovanni in fonte, mosaici del 390 ca., croce monogrammatica 02.JPG|
Byzantine mosaic medallion with the
Chi Rho on the ceiling of
Baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte,
Naples, Italy, unknown architect or craftsman, 362–408 Cappella Palatina Cupola.jpg|Byzantine mosaic medallions with
rinceaux in the
Cappella Palatina,
Palermo, Italy, unknown architect or craftsman, 1140s Egerton ms 1139!1 fse005r.jpg|Byzantine medallions on the cover of the
Melisende Psalter: Works of Mercy, 1131–1143, ivory,
British Library, London Kästchen mit Hof- und Liebesszenen-WUS04630.jpg|
Romanesque medallions on the lid of a casket of courtly love, 1180, champlevé enamel om gilded copper,
British Museum, London Guadalupe (España) Real Monasterio Entrada 095.jpg|
Gothic relief on the
Monastery of Saint Mary of
Guadalupe, Spain, unknown architect, unknown date Domenico ghirlandaio, sala dei gigli, medaglioni con profili di imperatori e volute con eroi, 1482-84 ca, 01 adriano.jpg|
Renaissance medallion, part of the Sala dei Gigli frescos,
Palazzo Vecchio,
Florence, Italy, by
Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1482–1484 110825 Iasi (14).jpg|
Moldavian style ceramic medallions on the facade of the
Saint Nicholas Princely Church,
Iași,
Romania, originally 1485, restored in 1888 Cour carrée, Nord 01 (cropped section with a window, niches and medallions).jpg|Renaissance medallion with marble plaques on the north facade of the
Cour Carrée of the Louvre Palace, designed by Pierre Lescot, 16th century Paris Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal672.JPG|
Louis XIII style medallion painted on some
boiserie in the
Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris, unknown architect and painter, 1610–1643 Rennes - Parlement de Bretagne 120915-13.JPG|
Wisdom casting out Calumny,
Baroque painting by
Noël Coypel, 1656–1666,
Palais du Parlement de Bretagne,
Rennes, France Chateau de Versailles Vestibule Haut 07.jpg|
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 Niche with gilt sculpture in the Palace of Versailles.jpg|
Baroque sculpture of
cherubs holding a medallion with
Louis XIV's
monogram, unknown sculptor, late 17th-very early 18th century,
Palace of Versailles,
Versailles, France Helblinghaus (K16A9590).jpg|Rococo medallion of the
Helbling House,
Innsbruck,
Austria, by
Anton Gigl, 1732 Dijon (21) Palais des Ducs de Bourgogne - Chapelle des Élus - 47.jpg|Rococo medallion in the
Chapelle des Élus,
Dijon, France, designed by
Jacques Gabriel, 1738–1739 Vase avec des cygnes - Manufacture de Sèvres - Musée du Louvre Objets d'Art OA 11024.jpg|
Louis XVI style vase with a medallion with garlands at the top, swans and
Vitruvian scrolls, by
Jean-Baptiste-Étienne Genest for
Sèvres, 1767, soft-paste porcelain, Louvre Clérisseau, Achilles panel, Victoria and Albert Museum.jpg|Louis XVI style medallion with garlands at the top, in a
grotesque panel, originally from the
Hôtel Grimod de La Reynière, Paris, designed and painted by
Charles-Louis Clérissea, 1770s,
Victoria and Albert Museum, London Vase with cover (Vase Paris enfants) MET DP103172.jpg|Louis XVI style medallion with garlands at the top, with a portrait relief on a vase with cover,
Sèvres, 1778, soft-paste porcelain,
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Londonderry Vase detail, 1813, Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory - Art Institute of Chicago - DSC09497.JPG|
Neoclassical medallions on the handle of the
Londonderry Vase, Sèvres porcelain, designed by
Charles Percier, decoration designed by
Alexandre-Theodore Brogniart, flowers and ornament painted by
Gilbert Drouet, and birds painted by
Christophe-Ferdinand Caron, 1813, hard-paste porcelain, polychrome enamels, gilding, and gilt bronze mounts,
Art Institute of Chicago, US Père-Lachaise - Division 19 - Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 04.jpg|Neoclassical medallion on the Grave of Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire,
Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, by
David d'Angers, 1844 Paris Palais Royal Restaurant Grand Véfour Decke 3.jpg|Neoclassical medallion in
Le Grand Véfour, Paris, by M.L. Viguet, 1852 Dijon Lycée Carnot détail 03.jpg|Neoclassical
polychrome medallion on the
Beaux Arts facade of the
Lycée Carnot, Dijon, designed by
Arthur Chaudouet, 1885–1893 Paris - Boulangerie - 64 rue Saint-Dominique - 007.jpg|Neoclassical medallion on the facade of Le Moulin de la Vierge (
Rue Saint-Dominique no. 64), Paris, by
Benits et Fils, 1900 Grave of Georgiev Brothers in the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest, Romania (03).jpg|
Romanian Revival medallion on the Grave of Georgiev Brothers,
Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest, by
Ion Mincu, 1900 Villa La Sapinère - Évian 11.jpg|Hexagonal ceramic medallion on the
Villa La Sapinière,
Évian-les-Bains, France, architect
Jean-Camille Formigé and sculptor
Alexandre Falguière, 1892–1896 Mettmann, Beckershoffstr. 7, Westwand, rechtes Medaillon.jpg|
Rococo Revival polychrome medallion on the facade of Beckershoffstraße no. 7,
Mettmann, Germany, unknown architect, 1902 Saint-Gilles 40 rue D'Espagne 802.jpg|Art Nouveau
sgraffito medallion of Rue d'Espagne no. 40,
Brussels,
Belgium, by
Pierre Van de Wattynes, 1902 Dijon Poste Place Grangier coq 01.jpg|Louis XVI style-inspired Beaux Arts medallion with mosaic on the facade of the
Hôtel des Postes de Dijon, designed by
Louis Perreau, 1907–1909 Schaerbeek rue Ernest-Laude 20 904.jpg|Art Nouveau sgraffito medallion on
Rue Ernest Laude no. 20, Brussels, by
Joseph Diongre and
Privat Livemont, 1908 "Louis XVI" tableware Fork, ca. 1909 (CH 18635507).jpg|Neo-Louis XVI style fork with medallion and
monogram, by
Shreve & Co., 1909, silver,
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York City 18 Calea Dorobanților, Bucharest (35).jpg|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, 1910 File:31 rue Campagne-Première - détail de la façade.jpg|Louis XVI style-inspired medallion-shaped
oculus, with rose garlands at the top, of
Rue Campagne Première no. 31, Paris, by
Alexandre Bigot (ceramist) and
André Arfvidson (architect), 1911 1925, quand l'Art déco séduit le monde (Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine, Paris) (11037406626).jpg|Art Deco octagon-shaped medallion on a makeup cabinet, medallion by
Alfred Janniot and cabinet by
Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann, 1929 77 avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris 8e 5.jpg|Art Deco octagon medallion with
cornucopias of
Avenue des Champs-Élysées no. 77, Paris, unknown architect, 1930 Netherland Plaza Hotel, Cincinnati, OH (46497023684).jpg|Art Deco square medallions above the entrance of the
Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza (West 5th Street no. 35),
Cincinnati, US, by
Walter W. Ahlschlager and
Delano & Aldrich, 1931 City Hall Rotunda2.jpg|Art Deco round medallion in the
Burbank City Hall, US, by
William Allen and
W. George Lutzi, 1943 ==See also==