My favorite work of art from my trip to Florence was Caravaggio’s Medusa, this image was painted on canvas with oil paint and then mounted onto a wooden shield. What makes this piece of art so interesting was not only the captivating image on the shield but the way, this piece was painted on a convex surface which challenges the standards and norms of the Baroque period and is a way for Caravaggio to show off his vast skill by painting on something other than a flat surface which makes this piece a marvel of its time because most art made in this time was on a flat surface. Another aspect of this painting is the chiaroscuro style on this piece of art showing the shading and the shift of light in medusas face from light to dark. This piece of art was commissioned by the Medici family to be made as a gift for the Duke of Tuscany. Medusa is a Greek god who is a gorgon she is a mysterious creature with snakes on her head who turns people to stone with her gaze. Caravaggio’s Medusa captures her reflection on Perseus’s shield just after she was slain by Perseus. Caravaggio was able to capture the shocked face of her death as she was amazed and horrified by Perseus. The meaning behind this painting was capturing the powerful and horrifying aspects of the snakes in her hair as well as making you feel everything Medusa would have felt in her last moments. The overall themes described in this painting are showing medusas power through her powers to turn someone to stone as well as the snakes that make up her hair, the fear she strikes into people but also the fear that was put into her as she died, and it is a reminder of our inevitable death that we all have to face.
