The Caravaggio’S Medusa

Caravaggio’S Medusa
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Caravaggio’S Medusa
Medusa is a snake –haired monster in Greek mythology known as Gorgons. She was the only Gorgon who was mortal and hence she only met her death after her slayer, Perseus, chopped off her head. The blood that spurted out from her neck gave rise to Chrysaor and Pegasus, her only sons by Poseidon. Different artists of the ancient times, such as Homer, Hesiod, the eighth-century B.C. poet, Pinder, the fifth-century B.C. lyric poet, and Caravaggio, have provided different depictions of her image, resulting into different interpretations of her appearance and ability. The painting has been done on oil on canvas, which is stretched over shield of poplar wood. Various artists have presented different versions of the painting. Each one of them creating different perspectives of Medusa, which raises several questions about the actual identity of Medusa. Consequently, it is worth noting that artists have the power to vary images based on their interests and life experiences.
Caravaggio provides an interesting perspective when he decides to depict a self-portrait of his own face in place of Medusa’s. He presents different perspectives about Medusa in different years. In 1631, he paints Medusa’s head covered in snakes and in another inventory, he presents the head of Medusa on a green field (Spike, 2010). These representations ushered him in to the popular imagination as an archetypal bohemian artist who was a radical non-conformist. Many of his contemporaries perceived him as an artist without any theory and who replicated what he saw without considering the great tradition of the high Renaissance. For example, Giovanni Pietro Bellori, one of his major critics, noted that he “lacked invention, decorum, disegno, or any knowledge of the science of painting” (Gregory, 2011, p. 167). His works seem to have been greatly influenced by Vasari’s ideas.
Cavaraggio’s painting is in accordance with Vasari’s perception of how different authors depicted their painting based on the time period of their existence. For example, artists of the First Age, such as Cimabue and Giotto, presented their arts through direct observation and imitation of the natural world. This perspective was common among artists who existed during this period. Vasari posits that the origin of these arts was nature herself. The Second Age artists, such as Masccio and Donatello, only strived to imitate whatever they saw in nature and nothing more. Consequently, their works was better planned and better conceived, which encouraged them to assign rules to their perspective (Gregory, 2011). Unfortunately, artists of this period relied excessively on study and measurement and hence their works lacked spontaneity and gracefulness. Third Age artists, starting with Leonardo and ending with Michelangelo, gained from perceiving the examples of the antique sculpture and advanced more by utilizing visual judgment that overrode rules. They imitated the most beautiful things in nature and combined various beautiful parts of the human bodies into an idealized figure.
Cavaraggio is a Third Age artist who mastered his art of painting by drawing on nature and improving his perception by incorporating various parts of the human body to communicate his ideas. In many of his paintings, he adopted an unconventional approach by altering one or more details of the subject to have a certain impression to the viewer. He did not only draw his representation from nature, but also drew on his experiences to make the reader understand his point. His Medusa painting presents his perspective about the revered goddess, who was later killed. Medusa was powerful and even in her death, her powerful gaze still sent shivers down the spines of her subjects. However, in this painting, Cavaraggio opts to replace Medusa’s face with his. There have been various explanations as to why the artist decided to replace Medusa’s face. Among the interpretations is that the depiction could be a way of showing his immunity to her dreadful gaze. However, based on the analysis of the painting, Caravaggio had an immense influence to art through his use of contrast and attention to details, which created a crucial emotional appeal to the viewers.
Understanding the background in Caravaggio’s painting of Medusa is key in appreciating his perspective. In the Greek mythology, a gorgon is a frightening creature with immense powers. Medusa was a gorgon with an extremely repulsive force that whoever looked at her turned to stone. She was so powerful that even during her beheading, goddess Athena gave Perseus a shield to ensure that he did not look at her as he decapitated her. While Caravaggio replaces Medusa’s head with his, he depicts the moment of self-recognition, where Medusa suddenly realizes that her head and her body are no longer one. Caravaggio depicts the fright in her eyes, which provides an excellent example of the artist’s focus on physiognomic or his tendency to focus on facial expression in his paintings.
Caravaggio was famous for his realistic and naturalistic approach to arts, which is popularly known as Baroque realism. He created his paintings in a manner that appealed to human emotions. He drew his uniqueness from his tendency to explore ordinary life in a manner that resonated more with the people. Unlike some of the artists during his time, he sought to be more realistic by utilizing figures who looked like ordinary people. He often sought out ancient stories that could not make much sense to the people and try to make them understand it by using faces that are familiar to the people. For example, in his painting of Medusa, he tries to depict the mythical figure as a human being who was also susceptible to pain. Medusa’s painting is characterized by a shocked gaze and a terrified scream, the same way a normal person would react when they realize that their body is separated from their head.
The artist began his painting work towards the end of the Italian Renaissance, immediately before the start of the Baroque era in art. The Renaissance was characterized by Classical perfection, which is evident in Caravaggio’s works, compared to those of other artists who graced the painting world in the succeeding periods. He often presented his works using a sharp contrast of colors, featuring deep shadows that arose the viewers’ emotions. Given that his paintings features a period between the Renaissance and the Baroque periods, his works appeared to be a combination of both features. His tendency to us...