THE MEDUSA

 

Artist: Caravaggio | Year (completed): 1597 | Period: Baroque

Both of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s depictions of Medusa, one from 1596, named after poet Gaspare Murtola, and the other from 1597, show the precise moment when Perseus slew her. Caravaggio toys with the idea by swapping Medusa’s face with Perseus’ to demonstrate his resistance to her terrifying gaze. The painting is seen to go well with Caravaggio’s particular fascination with brutality and reality due to its odd and complicated style. Apparently, Cardinal del Monte commissioned Caravaggio to paint two versions of Medusa to rival Leonardo da Vinci’s earlier depiction of her. Unfortunately, da Vinci’s Medusa is lost. Thus we can never know how closely Caravaggio’s rendition matched up with da Vinci’s.