2 options
Cellini's Perseus and Medusa and the Loggia dei Lanzi : configurations of the body of state / by Christine Corretti.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Corretti, Christine, author.
- Series:
- Art and Material Culture in Medieval and Renaissance Europe 4.
- Art and Material Culture in Medieval and Renaissance Europe, 2212-4187 ; Volume 4
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Cellini, Benvenuto, 1500-1571. Perseus.
- Cellini, Benvenuto.
- Cellini, Benvenuto, 1500-1571--Criticism and interpretation.
- Gorgons (Greek mythology) in art.
- Art--Political aspects--Italy--Florence.
- Art.
- Florence (Italy)--Politics and government--1421-1737.
- Florence (Italy).
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (xvii, 174 pages) : illustrations.
- Place of Publication:
- Leiden, The Netherlands : Koninklijke Brill, 2015.
- Summary:
- 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.
- Contents:
- Preliminary Material
- 1 The Story of Perseus and Medusa, an Interpretation of Its Meaning, and the Topos of Decapitation
- 2 Cellini’s Perseus and Medusa: The Paradigm of Control
- 3 Renaissance Political Theory and Paradoxes of Power
- 4 The Goddess as Other and Same
- 5 The Sexual Symbolism of the Perseus and Medusa
- 6 The Public Face of Justice
- 7 Classical and Grotesque Polities
- 8 Eleonora di Toledo and the Image of the Mother Goddess
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Description based on print version record.
- Publisher Number:
- 10.1163/9789004296787 DOI
The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.