Perseus with the Head of Medusa

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On display

V&A South Kensington
Cast Courts, Room 46b, The Weston Cast Court

Artist/Maker	Cellini (Sculptor)
Place of origin	Padua (city) (sculpted) Berlin (Cast)

Plaster cast, painted plaster, after the original bronze of Perseus with the Head of Medusa, by Benvenuto Cellini in Padua, about 1545 and now in the Museo Nazionale (Bargello), Florence, Italy. Cast in about 1882 in Berlin, Germany.

Object details

Categories	Sculpture Myths & Legends Plaster Cast
Object type	Statuette
Title	Perseus with the Head of Medusa (generic title)
Materials and techniques	Plaster cast, painted plaster Plaster Casting
Brief description	Plaster cast, painted plaster, after the original bronze of Perseus with the Head of Medusa, by Benvenuto Cellini in Padua, about 1545 and now in the Museo Nazionale (Bargello), Florence, Italy. Cast in about 1882 in Berlin, Germany.
Dimensions	Height: 71.5cm At base width: 24.5cm Weight: 4.5kg weight measured December 2010
Gallery label	(2014) Cellini’s elegant figures inspired sculptors in Victorian England. This cast was taken from his model for a great statue of Perseus. The bronze Perseus is considered the artist’s masterpiece. It was commissioned by Cosimo I, Grand Duke of Tuscany, one of the greatest patrons of the Renaissance.
Object history	Purchased from Neues Museum, Berlin in 1882 for £1 5s
Historical context	This is a model for the large statue of Perseus commissioned in 1545 by Grand Duke Cosimo I of Tuscany (1519-74). The finished statue was installed in the Loggi de 'Lanzi in Florence in September, 1554.
Subjects depicted	Heads (Body Parts) Perseus Medusa
Collection	Sculpture Collection
Accession number	REPRO.1882-238

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Record created	September 14, 2006
Record URL	https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O127772/perseus-with-the-head-of-statuette-cellini/

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