Skip to main content

Cellini, 'Perseus with the Head of Medusa', 1545-1554

 


My eye is immediately drawn to the head of Medusa. At first glance it looks gruesome, as though Cellini has captured the moment just after the head has been decapitated, and it oozes blood and bodily matter. However the viewer then notices the similarity between that and Medusa's hair. Maybe it is just her hair after all. Cellini has cleverly enticed the viewer in here, to take a closer look and therefore involved them in the sculpture as a whole. Once they do come closer, they begin to notice other things such as the similarity between Perseus' hair and Medusa's snakes. Hero and monster are not so separate. Even the features of their faces are very similar. Perhaps Cellini wants to suggest that evil can often wear the mask of good. Or he could even be implying that everyone has some evil within them, even the hero Perseus. 


One of the good things about sculpture is that the viewer is able to walk around it, and fully immerse themselves in the piece. Cellini has used this to his advantage. The pedestal on which Perseus stands is not actually a pedestal at all, but it is Medusa's body, tangled up like a snake at his feet. This highlights the immediacy of the event that Cellini has decided to depict, showing to the viewer that this is the second right after Medusa has been beheaded, and her body has fallen limply below the victor. The way Medusa's body is curled up around Perseus' feet can only really be appreciated when one walks round the base of the sculpture, because then you realise just how oddly and unnaturally her limbs are positioned. Cellini clearly wants to get the point across that Medusa is an unnatural and evil being, and belongs in the dust, physically below the goodness that emanates from Perseus' victorious, contrapposto stance.

Cellini has designed Perseus to be a perfect man, like the Greek concept of kouros, physically dominant with a very muscular frame shown by Cellini's detailed sculpture of the human anatomy. The 'S' shape created by the body amplifies the sense of movement and links back to the idea of this being immediately after the event, as Perseus lifts the head up in triumph. The sculpture is also made out of bronze and is currently outside in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, which means it catches in the natural light. Again, this allows the piece to flow and come alive as a whole, making it all the more realistic. The viewer gets the feeling that Perseus could step down from the body of Medusa at any moment, and parade round the square with the head still held high. Instead, he stands perhaps with quiet contemplation on his face, but he stands definitely in victory. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Artemisia Gentileschi, 'Jael and Sisera', c.1620

  My eye firstly notices the hand wielding the hammer above the unsuspecting man's head. Gentileschi is depicting a new and particularly horrible kind of weapon here instead of the huge sword she gave Judith to slice Holofernes' head off in 1620. The tent peg seems all the more violent, especially as the viewer is looking at the split second before the deed has been committed. Moreover, the gaze of the women (Jael) is focused and calm, making the piece seem unnerving. This is not a moment of hesitation but a snapshot of action - the woman has made up her mind and will commit to this murder. The viewer can only imagine how Gentileschi would have depicted the bloody aftermath, in her usual violent and tenebristic way. The fact that the artist has signed her name in the tomb-like stone above the man is significant - she is signing his life away in this painting, sending him swiftly to the grave.  The body of the man (Sisera) is also interestingly depicted. He lies in a rather eff...
Post a Comment
Read more

John Everett Millais, 'Peace Concluded', 1856

  My eye is drawn to the copy of The Times clutched in the hands of the officer. The white of the figurine on the man's knee and the white of his wife's sleeves all serve to make the white paper stand out even more on the canvas. As the title of the painting suggests, this is about the end of the Crimean War, seemingly depicting a soldier who has just returned home, surrounded by his family, but the mood is perhaps less euphoric than you might expect. The soldier seems somber and weary, and his wife has a look of concern. Although on the surface it seems to be quite a harmonious composition representing a close knit and traditional family, the positioning of the man is odd. It is his wife who takes her place at the apex of the triangular composition, the soldier is reduced to an emasculated role, perhaps an invalid, as suggested by the blanket over his legs. Her face is passive, but not exactly positive. With her arms draped around her husband, she looks posed, dutiful but not...
Post a Comment
Read more