6Perseus with the Head of Medusa by Benvenuto Cellini (1545-1554)
This bronze sculpture by Benvenuto Cellini depicts the Greek hero Perseus triumphantly holding the severed head of Medusa. Created for the Duke of Florence, Cosimo I de’ Medici, the statue stands in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence. Perseus with the Head of Medusa is celebrated for its complex composition and dramatic tension. Cellini’s attention to detail is evident in the contrasting textures of Perseus’s smooth, muscular body and Medusa’s writhing serpentine hair. This sculpture embodies the Renaissance fascination with mythology and the heroic nude.
