Caravaggio (1571-1610) Medusa (Detail) Oil on...

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Caravaggio (1571-1610)
Medusa (Detail)
Oil on canvas mounted on wood
1598-1599
55 x 60 cm
(21.65” x 23.62”)
Galleria degli Uffizi (Florence, Italy)

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In Greek myth, Perseus used the severed snake-haired head of the Gorgon Medusa as a shield with which to turn his enemies to stone. By the sixteenth century Medusa was said to symbolize the triumph of reason over the senses; and this may have been why Cardinal Del Monte commissioned Caravaggio to paint Medusa as the figure on a ceremonial shield presented in 1601 to Ferdinand I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. The poet Marino claimed that it symbolized the Duke’s courage in defeating his enemies.

Web Gallery of Art

(Source: avengered, via rhaegartargaryen)

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