Cellini's Perseus and Medusa and the Loggia dei Lanzi : : configurations of the body of state / / by Christine Corretti.

• VerfasserIn: Corretti, Christine,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, The Netherlands : : Koninklijke Brill,, 2015.; ©2015
• Year of Publication: 2015
• Language: English
• Series: Art and Material Culture in Medieval and Renaissance Europe 4.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (xvii, 174 pages) :; illustrations.
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• ISSN: 2212-4187
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: by Christine Corretti.

Benvenuto Cellini’s Perseus and Medusa , one of Renaissance Italy’s most complex sculptures, is the subject of this study, which proposes that the statue’s androgynous appearance is paradoxical. Symbolizing the male ruler overcoming a female adversary, the Perseus legitimizes patriarchal power; but the physical similarity between Cellini’s characters suggests the hero rose through female agency. Dr. Corretti argues that although not a surrogate for powerful Medici women, Cellini’s Medusa may have reminded viewers that Cosimo I de’ Medici’s power stemmed in part from maternal influence. Drawing upon a vast body of art and literature, Dr. Corretti concludes that Cellini and his contemporaries knew the Gorgon as a version of the Earth Mother, whose image is found in art for Medici women.