The 17th-century German artist Sebastian Dadler created medals at the court of the Elector of Saxony, Johann Georg I. He lived in turbulent Dresden during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), a conflict between Catholics and Protestants, and worked on medals dedicated to the Elector himself and famous figures who participated in the battles. Thus, in 1631, he presented a medal with a portrait of the Swedish King Gustav II Adolf, who entered the war the year before. In 1632, the king died in the Battle of Lützen, and Dadler created another medal with an image of the already deceased ruler.
In 1634, the artist settled in Danzig, where he married and lived for 12 years. Then he moved to Hamburg, and settled here until his death in 1657. Dudler continued to work in Hamburg on coins and medals. He had his own students, the most famous being Johann Hoehn the Elder, who travelled with him from the artist's time in Dresden.
Dadler's works are rich in detail. Some of them depict city panoramas or large armies with tiny soldiers. During his life, Dudler created images for hundreds of medals and coins. He periodically accepted orders from Poland, Sweden and the Netherlands. Many of these medals were made to mark solemn and important events, such as the signing of the Peace of Westphalia, the coronation of Queen Christina of Sweden, the end of the Eighty Years' War, the wedding of the Polish King Jan II Casimir, etc. The examples presented here previously belonged to famous collectors and have been acquired by the British Museum over the years.
Sources:
www.britishmuseum.org
