MEDUSA
This remarkable picture of Medusa’s head was painted by the Italian artist Caravaggio (1571–1610). Its carrier is unusual, because he painted it on canvas that was applied to a wooden shield. The painted shield was commissioned by Caravaggio’s patron Cardinal Del Monte, who gave it as a present to Ferdinand I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1601.
To adorn a shield with the head of Medusa fitted into an older iconographic tradition. According to mythology, Medusa was one of the three Gorgons, beautiful but horrifying women with snakes for hair, who turned people to stone with their gaze. Deemed invincible, the great Greek hero Perseus defeated Medusa with a clever ruse: he fended off her lethal looks using a mirror. Perseus managed to behead her and kept the dripping head as a trophy. Eventually, he presented it to the goddess Athena, who would carry it on her shield in the Trojan War. Thus, the head of Medusa became a sign of strength. The powerful De’ Medici family liked to use it in various adornments as a symbol of their courage and virtue.
Interestingly, Caravaggio depicted the very moment in which Medusa is decapitated but still conscious, balancing between life and death. Although Caravaggio’s depiction of Medusa may be impressive - especially the illusion of a concave surface on the convex shield is breathtakingly well done – she is yet not really convincing as a frightening monster. Caravaggio's Medusa comes across as very human and she looks terrified, rather than terrifying. Another aspect is her somewhat masculine countenance, which can be explained by the fact that Caravaggio used his regular male model to pose for Medusa.
(Text: Maarten Levendig and Pauline Dorhout)
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