Medusa

E70870

Medusa is a famous painting by the Italian Baroque artist Caravaggio depicting the severed, snake-haired head of the Gorgon from Greek mythology at the moment of her death.

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Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Baroque painting
painting
painting
artHistoricalSignificance famous depiction of Medusa in Western art
iconic example of Caravaggio's Baroque style
artist Caravaggio
artisticStyle chiaroscuro
tenebrism
background dark background
basedOn Greek mythology
myth of Perseus and Medusa
collection Uffizi Gallery
commissionedBy Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte
countryOfOrigin Italy
creator Caravaggio
Caravaggio
culturalContext Counter-Reformation art
depicts Gorgons
surface form: Gorgon

Medusa self-linksurface differs
moment of Medusa's death
severed head
snakes as hair
genre mythological painting
iconography blood at neck stump
open screaming mouth
wide staring eyes
inception 1597
intendedUse ceremonial shield
languageOfTitle Italian
lighting dramatic directional light
locatedIn Florence
Italy
location Uffizi Gallery
medium oil paint
movement Italian Baroque
notableFeature self-portrait of Caravaggio in Medusa's face (interpretation)
originalTitle Medusa self-linksurface differs
period late 16th century
relatedWork Medusa (Caravaggio painting, first version, private collection)
shape round shield (tondo)
subjectGender female
support canvas mounted on wood
technique realism
theme death
heroic victory over monster
horror
violence

Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Poseidon consort Medusa
Medusa depicts Medusa self-linksurface differs
subject surface form: Medusa (Caravaggio painting, Uffizi)
Perseus killed Medusa
Caravaggio notableWork Medusa
Medusa originalTitle Medusa self-linksurface differs
subject surface form: Medusa (Caravaggio painting, Uffizi)
Perseus tookHeadOf Medusa