TY - BOOK ID - 659570 TI - Cellini's "Perseus and Medusa" and the Loggia dei Lanzi : configurations of the body of state AU - Corretti, Christine AU - Brill PY - 2015 VL - 4 SN - 9789004292192 9789004296787 9004296786 9004292195 PB - Leiden ; Boston Brill DB - UniCat KW - Gorgons (Greek mythology) in art. KW - Art KW - Gorgons in art KW - Art, Occidental KW - Art, Visual KW - Art, Western (Western countries) KW - Arts, Fine KW - Arts, Visual KW - Fine arts KW - Iconography KW - Occidental art KW - Visual arts KW - Western art (Western countries) KW - Arts KW - Aesthetics KW - Political aspects KW - Cellini, Benvenuto, KW - Criticism and interpretation. KW - Florence (Italy) KW - Politics and government KW - Cellini, Benvenuto UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:659570 AB - 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. ER -