Perseus
by Benvenuto CELLINI

The sculpture shows Perseus, holding the head of the Medusa which he has cut off and from whose blood the winged horse Pegasus will be born. This masterpiece in bronze was sculpted between 1545 and 1554 for the Loggia dei Lanzi (an open-air gallery) and has stood there ever since. The sculpture can be considered as the reult of a direct competition with Donatello's earlier sculpture, Judith and Holophernes.

The modelling of the statuettes in bronze on the marble base is so exquisitely done that it suggests the precision of the goldsmith rather than the sculptor's art.

Preview Picture Data Info
Perseus with the Head of Medusa
1545-54
Bronze, height 550 cm
Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence


Perseus with the Head of Medusa
1545-54
Bronze, height 550 cm
Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence


Perseus with the Head of Medusa
1545-54
Bronze, height 550 cm
Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence


Perseus with the Head of Medusa
1545-54
Bronze, height 550 cm
Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence


Perseus with the Head of Medusa
1545-54
Bronze, height 550 cm
Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence


Perseus (detail)
1545-54
Bronze
Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence


Perseus (detail)
1545-54
Bronze
Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence


Perseus with the Head of Medusa (detail)
1545-54
Marble and bronze
Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence


Base of the statue of Perseus: Mercury
1545-54
Bronze
Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence


Base of the statue of Perseus: Danaë
1545-54
Bronze
Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence


Base of the statue of Perseus: Jupiter
1545-54
Bronze
Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence


Base of the statue of Perseus: Minerva
1545-54
Bronze
Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence


Perseus
1545
Wax, height 72 cm
Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence


Perseus
1540s
Bronze, height 75 cm
Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence


Perseus
1540s
Bronze, height 75 cm
Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence



Summary of works by Benvenuto Cellini
Perseus | other bronze statues
salt cellar | medals and coins
sculptures in marble
decorated armour | graphics



© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.