Muhju

Le Temps Revient

XVIII · VIII · MMXXIII

Context

In 2023, Cosimo de’ Medici di Toscana commissioned me to reinterpret the Medici coat of arms. Le Temps Revient is special to me: an old family’s arms, carried for five centuries, redrawn for the family itself by a living painter, for the digital age.

I felt honoured and humbled by the opportunity to take part in that history. Cosimo adopted the finished crest as his emblem, representing a new era of digital art and web3. These pages bring together the historical references, design sheets and symbols through which I arrived at its form.

Le Temps RevientMuhju · 2023 · CommissionThe crest of Cosimo de’ Medici di Toscana4,999 × 4,999 px1/1

IThe Arms

The Medici coat of arms has left an enduring mark on history. Its heraldic core is a radiant golden shield carrying six spheres: five red balls and a blue orb bearing three fleurs-de-lis, a sign of the family’s historic French alliance. I gathered painted and carved examples to study how that core had been carried through different settings, with crowns, figures and other surrounding forms.

Painted Medici arms: a golden shield with red balls and a blue orb beneath a crown, flanked by two muscular nude supporters with putti below.

An oval painted golden Medici shield beneath a crown, with two cherub heads and an inscription below.

A crowned Medici shield in a carved stone roundel set into a frescoed vault.

IIThe Brief

I wanted the emblem to draw on the artistic tradition of the Renaissance while taking a contemporary form. It also had to work as a profile picture and remain an artwork that rewarded close looking. Finding a concept that could do both was difficult.

My notes called for less decoration and noise, clearer geometry, sharp edges and a clean silhouette. I considered gold and white, perhaps a black version, with a white background and light from the left. The symmetry needed to feel natural, while rim light would help describe the forms.

A layout sheet showing the painted Medici arms cropped into a square and a circle.

IIIThe Sketches

For me, the most important thing was that the artwork should be absolutely perfect. I worked through four drawn versions, using the old painted arms as a starting form, before developing the crest in a loose colour sketch. My mentor, Greatto, guided me through the design. With his help, I reached a final concept that brought together all the intentions of the brief.

Red line drawings of the first and second versions of the crest.

The third version in red beside a fourth drawn in red, green and blue layers.

The painted Medici arms cut out against a white background.

A loose colour sketch with wings, red balls, blue drapery and an orange crown topped with the Ethereum diamond.

IVThe Symbols

The crest carries symbols used by Cosimo il Vecchio and Lorenzo il Magnifico. The three feathers and laurels bring with them the three virtues, the triumph of fame, nobility and artistic endeavour. I wanted these inherited meanings to remain part of the new emblem.

At the top, a cherub holds the crown, where I placed the Ethereum logo in place of the Medici diamond. It connects the family’s symbolism to web3. Below the angels and banners, a gilded skull serves as a memento mori.

A putto carrying the finished crown, with its red cap, gold laurel leaves and the Ethereum diamond above.

A marble roundel with three white feathers rising from a ring.

VThe Motto

Le Temps Revient carries Lorenzo il Magnifico’s motto, understood as joyful times returning. Taken up after the assassination of his brother Giuliano de’ Medici in 1478, it expressed the hope of a new golden era through the renewal and continuation of the Medici dynasty. In this crest, I use it to speak of the renewal of contemporary art in the twenty-first century.

Joyful times returning.

VILe Temps Revient

The finished Le Temps Revient brings the golden shield, winged supporters, crown and red banners together against black. Made in 2023 as a unique work, it became Cosimo’s emblem, and the family also collects it. The crest later became the source for the Anima Necklace, given to collectors of Nexus Anima.

Le Temps Revient, the finished crest on black: a golden shield with five red balls and a blue orb, two winged armoured supporters with lances, red motto banners, a cherub holding the crown and Ethereum diamond, and two cherubs below.

I thank Carlo of Ninfa for recognising my artistic style, and Ninfa for its exceptional work connecting traditional fine art with web3. I also thank Greatto for his guidance throughout the design. The artwork sold on 18 August 2023 through my private sale room on Ninfa, a feature that lets artists present their work and progress to collectors without minting it.

2023Commission