Perseus on the relief represents Duke Francesco while Andromeda represents his Hapsburg wife, Giovanna. The sculpture’s relief panel also pays tribute to other Medici family members. Most symbolic is Perseus himself, who, a domineering figure, celebrates the control of the Medici over the Florentine people entirely. The beheaded Medusa underneath Perseus’ feet represents the Republic that the Medici faction overthrew in 1434 under Cosimo, while the snakes coming out of the gorgon’s body symbolise the disagreements in the city which threatened democracy.
What does Perseus with the Head of Medusa symbolise? The location was and still is home to other statues, all politically or artistically related to each other and the Medici. The statue was placed in the city’s central Piazza della Signoria, under the Loggia dei Lanzi, which was and continues to be a centre of political focus in the city. It was commissioned by the Duke of Florence Cosimo I, who was a significant patron and advocate for the arts, learning and philosophy. Perseus standing on the slain body of Medusa.īenvenuto Cellini sculpted Perseus with the Head of Medusa between 15. His life was as notable as his sculptures: one critic wrote, “other goldsmiths have done finer work, but Benvenuto Cellini is the author of the most delightful autobiography ever written.” Where is Perseus with the Head of Medusa located? He also confesses to three murders in T he Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini, stating that he stabbed his brother’s murderer to death, killed a rival goldsmith and shot an innkeeper dead. In total, he was accused of sodomy once with a woman and at least three times with men during his lifetime, and was once sentenced to pay 12 staia of flour. In 1548, he was accused by a woman of having committed sodomy with her son. He had many brushes with the law in his lifetime and has been variously described as vain and wild.īorn in Florence in 1500, Cellini was banished aged 16 for taking part in an affray (public fighting). Who sculpted Perseus with the Head of Medusa?īenvenuto Cellini, who sculpted Perseus with the Head of Medusa, boasts a reputation as a troubled genius.
Here’s the history of Cellini’s masterpiece. I was charmed by the extraordinary balance in his magnificent proportions.”
But as soon as I saw Perseus, everything else faded away. Charlie Chaplin once remarked, “one night, with the square all lit up, I was drawn to the David by Michelangelo. Nonetheless, it is still recognised by many as a masterpiece. However, since it is located near other Renaissance masterpieces such as Michelangelo’s David, Bandinelli’s Hercules and Cacus and Donatello’s Judith and Holofernes, it is often overlooked. It depicts the dark and foreboding bronze of the Greek hero Perseus holding up the severed and bloody head of the gorgon Medusa, which gazes at the other statues around it as if she has turned them to stone.Ĭommissioned by Duke Cosimo I de Medici and unveiled in 1554, it is one of the most significant examples of Italian Mannerist sculpture in existence and is rich in symbolism. Standing in Loggia dei Lanzi of the famous Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy, ‘Perseus with the Head of Medusa’ is one of sculptor Benvenuto Cellini’s most famous works.