Head of Medusa

c. 1801

Antonio Canova (Italian, 1757–1822)

Neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova dominated Rome’s artistic scene at the turn of the 19th century. This plaster is a partial model for his large-scale marble statue Perseus Holding the Head of Medusa. According to Greek mythology, Medusa was a serpent-haired creature called a Gorgon whose gaze turned anyone who beheld her into stone. Perseus killed Medusa as she slept by using a mirrored shield to approach her and sever her head, which he continued to carry as a weapon, using it to petrify his enemies. Here, Canova depicted Medusa’s decapitated head, with its blank eyes, slack mouth, and cheeks caressed by snakes.

Status: On View, Gallery 219
Department: Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Artist: Antonio Canova
Title: Head of Medusa
Place: Italy (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1796–1806
Medium: Plaster
Dimensions: 31 × 31.8 × 30.5 cm (12 1/4 × 12 9/16 × 12 1/16 in.); With socle: 116.3 × 53.4 × 49.6 cm (45 3/4 × 21 × 19 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Lacy Armour Endowment
Reference Number: 2002.606
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/160236/manifest.json

Bruce Boucher, “Head of Medusa,” Notable Acquisitions at the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum Studies 29, 2 (2003): 62-63 (ill.).

Washington, DC, Canova: Sketching in Clay, June 11–Oct. 9, 2023, not in cat.; Art Institue of Chicago, Nov. 19, 2023-Mar. 18, 2024 [Chicago only].

Sold, Sotheby’s, London, 14 December 2001, lot 117, to Daniel Katz, Limited, London [according to Danny Katz]; sold to the Art Institute, 2002.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.