Art › Florence › The Uffizi
Medusa
The Gorgon's head at the moment Perseus cuts it off, screaming, snakes for hair, on a round parade shield.
Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte had it made as a gift for Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany: a ceremonial shield, the monster whose look turned men to stone painted on it.
The shield is convex, but Caravaggio painted it as if it were flat and dished, the head standing out from it, still alive, blood spurting. It is said to be his own face. Stand before it in 3D ›
