Medals properly so called, cast with a commemorative purpose, began, though there are only a few rare specimens, in the last years of the fourteenth century. One of the first certainly known medals was struck for Francesco Carrara (Novello) on the occasion of the capture of Padua in 1390. But practically, the vogue for this form of art was created by Pisanello (c. 1380–1451), the most important commemorative portrait medallist in the first half of the 15th century, and who can claim to have originated this genre. Though not religious in intent many of them possess a strong religious colouring. The beautiful reverse of Pisanello's medal of Malatesta Novello depicts the mail-clad warrior dismounting from his horse and kneeling before a crucifix.