Perseus with the Head of Medusa — Benvenuto Cellini
A Greek myth filtered through the filter of Mannerism.
This summer, I will finally visit Tuscany, one of my pending trips for years, which I have had to delay for various reasons.
Florence is, of course, the obligatory and most important stop. One of the star cities during the Italian Renaissance, with an unlimited artistic and historical heritage and whose museums are among the most important in the world.
Just walking around the city is an experience: cathedrals such as Santa Maria del Fiore or basilicas such as Santa Maria Novella provoke the greatest admiration, just as the squares and palaces are places of overwhelming exquisiteness.
In one of these squares, the Piazza della Signoria, among countless historical and artistic wonders, we can find Benvenuto Cellini’s sculpture Perseus with the Head of Medusa.
This is one of the masterpieces of Italian Mannerism, which exemplifies the whole spirit of the Renaissance movement. The sculpture was a zenith only surpassed by Michelangelo (precisely the source of inspiration for Cellini and other artists).
The statue stands imposingly on a pedestal (which we will see later). Two bodies are seen: a man standing triumphant, stepping on a decapitated…
