August the Strong saw himself as both powerful and wise. And the three-dimensional design his medallist, Heinrich Paul Groskurt, devised to reflect this self-image is close to perfect. You can see the result here.
On the reverse of one of the medals, August the Strong appears as "Hercules Saxonicus" battling the hydra, a monster from Greek mythology. The Latin inscription states that he countered it with intelligence.
The medallist's art in Saxony achieved ultimate perfection under August the Strong. Around 180 different medals were struck during his 39-year rule as Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. They all reflect important political and dynastic events, creating a kind of chronicle of his reign – an histoire métallique that August the Strong used to glorify and memorialise his actions.
He had twenty medallists working for him. Of those, the king found the work of Heinrich Paul Groskurt especially appealing. Groskurt's powerful, vivid portrait of August appeared on many of the medals.
The histoire métallique culminated in a series of four medals commissioned by August the Strong after he had reclaimed the crown of Poland in 1709. Of the 17 designs on show in the medal room – in the centre cabinet – he selected four. Heinrich Paul Groskurt was commissioned to cut the steel dies in three different sizes.
Further Media
- Material & Technique
- silver, embossed
- Museum
- Münzkabinett
- Location & Dating
- Saxony, n.d. (1712-1717)
- Inventory number
- BGB8843