Perseus with the Head of Medusa [SEP] creator
Perseus with the Head of Medusa
Perseus with the Head of Medusa is a bronze sculpture made by Benvenuto Cellini in the period 1545–1554. The sculpture stands upon a square base with bronze relief panels depicting the story of Perseus and Andromeda, similar to a predella on an altarpiece. It is located in the Loggia dei Lanzi of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy. The second Florentine duke, Duke Cosimo I de' Medici, commissioned the work with specific political connections to the other sculptural works in the piazza. When
head of the Gorgon Medusa, being that Perseus had previously said he was up to a task so harsh as fetching a Gorgon's head. Perseus agreed and Polydectes told him that he could not return to the island without it. Perseus slew Medusa, supposedly using his shield as a mirror to avoid looking at her.
When Perseus returned to Seriphos with the Gorgon's head, he found that, in his absence, his mother was threatened and abused (or even raped) by Polydectes, and had to seek refuge