San Marino

2021

Commemorative coin

The 450th anniversary of the birth of Caravaggio

Official Journal of the European Union

The design depicts the penitent Magdalene, detail of the homonymous work by Caravaggio, kept at the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome. At the top left is the inscription ‘SAN MARINO’, and underneath are the dates ‘1571-2021’. At the left are the initials of the author Silvia Petrassi, ‘SP’. At the top right are the inscription ‘CARAVAGGIO’ and the mintmark. The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag.

Additional information

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) was an important Italian painter of the early Baroque period. With his realistic pictorial design, he is regarded - together with Annibale Carracci - as the overcomer of Mannerism and the founder of Roman Baroque painting. He broke new ground primarily in the treatment of Christian themes by linking the sacred with the profane. His most important painting innovation was the chiaroscuro, the chiaroscuro painting, as a design element of the scenes. The coin commemorating the 450th anniversary of his birth depicts Mary Magdalene, companion of Jesus and witness of the Resurrection, after the painting "The Penitent Magdalene" created around 1595, today in the Palazzo Doria-Pamphilj, Rome. Caravaggio's model was the courtesan Anna Bianchini, with whom he had a turbulent relationship.

Edge lettering

Designer