PIERO DI COSIMO Ave Maria Silver Coin 500 Francs Cameroon 2018

Piero di Cosimo

Piero di Cosimo (2 January 1462 – 12 April 1522), also known as Piero di Lorenzo, was a Florentine painter of the Italian Renaissance. He is most famous for the mythological and allegorical subjects he painted in the late Quattrocento; he is said to have abandoned these to return to religious subjects under the influence of Savonarola, the preacher who exercised a huge sway in Florence in the 1490s, and had a similar effect on Botticelli. The High Renaissance style of the new century had little influence on him, and he retained the straightforward realism of his figures, which combines with an often whimsical treatment of his subjects to create the distinctive mood of his works. Vasari has many stories of his eccentricity, and the mythological subjects have an individual and quirky fascination. He trained under Cosimo Roselli, whose daughter he married, and assisted him in his Sistine Chapel frescos. He was also influenced by Early Netherlandish painting, and busy landscapes feature in many works, often forests seen close at hand. Several of his most striking secular works are in the long “landscape” format used for paintings inset into cassone wedding chests or spalliera headboards or panelling. He was apparently famous for designing the temporary decorations for Carnival and other festivities.

The reverse of the coin shows the wonderful reproduction of the painting by Piero di Cosimo. The obverse of the coin presents the Coat of Arms of Cameroon and the inscriptions: “REPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN” - the issuing country, “2018” – the year of issue and “500 FRANCS CFA” – the face value.

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