Artwork of Medusa: The Gorgon

The gorgon is both a famous and infamous creature in ancient mythology. Medusa is one gorgon that has been included as a piece of various Greek and Roman myths as well as being a part of its own. Medusa was a feared being that was furiously spirited and was depicted as having a head that was filled with writhing serpents and piercing eyes that could literally turn mortals to stone.

These are the reasons why medusa and its myths were chosen so many times to be the inspiration for artistic endeavors that included paintings, sculptures, and the written word. The Medusa shield that is presented at the Uffizi museum in Florence, the Perseus sculpture standing in Florence near the Uffizi museum, and the bust of Medusa sculpture presented in the Capitoline museum in Rome all represent different portrayals of the character and myth of Medusa.

This is the famous oil painting of the Medusa head on a shield that is presented in the Uffizi museum in Florence, Italy. It was made around the year 1597 by an Italian artist named Caravaggio during the beginning of the baroque era.

This particular portrayal of the Medusa myth aims to recreate the conclusion of the story. After Perseus found and then killed Medusa, he took her head and used it in battle to defeat his enemies and then awarded it to the goddess Athena who cast the head into her shield where it then would remain.

It was thought that in the sixteenth century Medusa symbolized the triumph of reason over the blindness of the senses, which could have been one of the reasons for the commissioning of this work of art. Caravaggio's patron named Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte commissioned the production of the piece as a gift to Ferdinando I de' Medici, the grand duke of Tuscany. The image was painted on a ceremonial shield that was presented to the duke as a finished product in 1601. The painted shield was said to have symbolized the courage of the duke in defeating his enemies.

This fact goes hand in hand with the fact that this is a baroque work of art. The baroque style is to grab the attention of the viewer and bring them into whatever persuasion is the purpose of the art. This shield is trying to persuade the people of the area to lay down their arms because for one reason, the shield of Medusa is all powerful and second, the duke and his supporters have defeated other enemies and they are in the right. The oil painting itself is very ornate with colors that seem to broaden the reach of the shield.

The work is also a triumph of perspective with the curvature of the shield coming into play because the Medusa head seems to come out into the space of the viewer, which in turn relates to its baroque styling. The expression of the Medusa face was actually modeled by a person who was in the moment of death, it is a horrifying image that speaks to all who question the views of whoever holds it.

This sculpture represents probably the most triumphant moment occurring in the myth of Medusa. Perseus, while attempting to rescue his mother from King Polydectes, was challenged to retrieve the head in question. He eventually succeeded this task by using a shield of reflection, as to not turn to stone, and a curved sword in order to remove her head. Perseus then would use the powers of Medusa's head to defeat his enemies in battle. The sculpture also portrays Perseus wearing a winged hat and winged sandals just like the ones Mercury wears, probably showing the strong influence that the god had on the mission's success.

The bronze sculpture was made by Benvenuto Cellini between the years of 1545 and 1554. The purpose of the work was to be placed in the Loggia dei Lanzi, the plaza in Florence, and that is where it has stood ever since. The era in art was still the renaissance and this work of art was made specifically in that style. The subject that Cellini chose to work on is a sensational subject with images that are both horrific and beautiful, but he did not choose to treat the subject in a purely dramatic way.

The style that is stressed here is realism even if the characters are mythological. Cellini was a goldsmith and he shows his techniques by signing the sculpture on the strap that lies across the torso. The base that Perseus stands on contains smaller statuettes that exhibit his story. Diana, Jupiter, Mercury, and Minerva are all represented in his biography.

This sculpture of the head of Medusa is titled the Bust of Medusa made by the famous Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It was sculpted in 1630 and it currently sits in the Capitoline museum in Rome. Bernini is probably the most celebrated sculptor during the baroque era because of his considerable skill in working and carving with marble, and his adeptness in mixing figures that blend the divine and ethereal with the material and natural.

The moment that Bernini chose to portray is the exact moment when Medusa realizes that she has been tricked. It is her face that is the most poignant part of the sculpture instead of the physical body or the sensational colors. Perseus has put the mirror in front of her face and her hair that is full of snakes start to become stationary and then following with her forehead and then the viewer sees that expression on her face that tells us that she understands now that everything is over for her. It is an example of a mix of baroque action and physical movement and spiritual emotions that Bernini seems to specialize in.

The sculpture was probably made during the first years of Pope Innocent X when Bernini was actually sent away from the papal court because of several misfortunes. He suffered professional humiliation when the bell tower of the basilica of St. Peter's was demolished. The Bust of Medusa is thought to have been created just for the personal pleasure and honing of Bernini's skill, as it is known that his students did play a role in its production although it is not known how much.

Through all of these works of art we have seen three different approaches to the myth of Medusa through both the eras of the renaissance and baroque. In the baroque period we see how the ability to become ornate, dramatic, and spiritual are cherished. And through the renaissance realism is thought of as the truest form of artistic vision. Whether or not the style and artist are realist or formalist, the works of art that stem from these types of thinking are magical pieces that have stood the test of time.

Works Cited

http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/lanzi/lanzi.html

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/c/cellini/perseus.html

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/scbz/hd_scbz.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medusa_(Caravaggio)

http://timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article1178475.ece

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/portrait/story/0,,881731,00.html

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Medusa_Bernini_Musei_Capitolini.jpg

http://en.museicapitolini.org/museo/restauri/restauro_del_busto_di_medusa_di_gian_lorenzo_bernini