Joey Scardina
In Peter Paul Rubens and Frans Snyders’ Head of Medusa, the decapitated head of Medusa lies in the shadows, surrounded by snakes. The piece is a baroque oil painting focussing on not just the decapitated head of Medusa, but also strongly of the creatures surrounding her head that come from her blood. While Rubens and Snyders’ painting depicts the gruesome fate of Medusa, I also think it lacks a certain accountability for the fact that Medusa, in some narratives, is interpreted to be a victim rather than a monster.
In Classical Mythology, it is said that Medusa, daughter of Phorcys and lover of Poseidon, is mortal even though both her sisters aren’t, and that all three of the gorgons are of terrifying aspect due to their serpent writhing hair. Perseus beheaded Medusa in her sleep using the reflection in his shield since those who gaze upon a gorgons face will turn to stone, and he was able to escape Medusa’s sisters by using the Cap of Invisibility (Morford et al. 170, 535). After the pregnant gorgon was beheaded, Chrysaor–son of Medusa and Poseidon; He of the Golden Sword–and a winged horse, Pegasus, sprang from Medusa’s body. While flying away from the scene, Perseus’s kibisis that he kept Medusa’s head in dripped blood onto the lands of Libya, which is where the infinite number of poisonous snakes infecting the deserts of Libya came from (Morford et al. 535-536).
The depiction of Medusa’s head is quite gruesome and a bit eerie due to the sheer number of snakes surrounding her head and the look of surprise that was left on her face after being decapitated. In “Matter as an Artist: Rubens’s Myths of Spontaneous Generation,” it is discussed how unique of an interpretation Rubens and Snyder took by making the snakes the focal point of the painting rather than Medusa’s head, but also acknowledges it to how it could be that Snyders specializes in the depiction of animals, which is also attributable to why there is also a scorpion, a spider, and other animals coming from the blood of Medusa (Mandabach). The effects of Medusa’s blood in the painting spawning different creatures is indicative of the effects of Medusa’s blood in her myth when the Libyan desert was infected with poisonous snakes due to Medusa’s blood dripping from Perseus’s kibisis.
The depiction of Medusa in this painting is not how I see her entirely. Rubens and Snyders’ portrayal of Medusa lends her to be seen as a monster who wreaks havoc through the form of different snakes and other creatures. Medusa is a figure who means a lot to me as a survivor of assault since many people, including myself, interpret her story as one of being a victim rather than a villain. Stories I’ve read and heard, like Ovid, talk about how Medusa was seduced and raped by Poseiden in Athena’s temple, and how Medusa had her beautiful hair turned into snakes by Athena as punishment. I connect Medusa’s story of being a villainized victim to those of other survivors of assault since she was treated like a monster even though it was a monster who made her that way in the first place. The idea of a man taking advantage of someone isn’t far from any truth I’ve ever heard and experienced myself, which is why this painting feels accurate in terms of Medusa’s fate, but inaccurate in how it paints her as a monster.
Works Cited
Mandabach, Marisa. “Matter as an Artist: Rubens’s Myths of Spontaneous Generation.” Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art, 2021, jhna.org/articles/matter-as-an-artist-rubenss-myths-of-s pontaneous-generation/.
Morford, Mark, et al. Classical Mythology. Available from: VitalSource Bookshelf, (12th Edition). Oxford University Press Academic US, 2023.
Grace Huffman
Rubens’ Head of Medusa is a depiction of the myth of Medusa and her death at the hands of Perseus. While there is some variation in the story of Perseus, his quest for Medusa’s head remains a critical central theme. He seeks to decapitate Medusa in an attempt to free his mother Danae from imprisonment at the hands of her father, King Acrisius (Morford 533-534). A myth depicting her murder as noble and necessary may have the intent of justifying Medusa’s tragic mistreatment in Greek myth. Medusa’s story begins with her as a young mortal woman who served as a priestess in the Temple of Athena. She is assaulted in the temple by Poseidon as myth claims that he could not resist her beauty. Out of jealousy and anger Athena cursed Medusa, turning her hair into snakes that would turn anyone that looked at her into stone (Glennon). The implications of Athena’s punishment is that no man would ever be able to look upon, desire or even be near her. Despite her depiction as a monster, Medusa has become an embodiment of the demonization and abuse of women at the hands of both deities and men throughout the centuries.
The myth of Medusa parallels the all-too-common theme of blaming and isolating victims of assault. Despite Poseidon being the perpetrator, Medusa is the one who is punished. Not only is she the one punished, but her legacy in Greek history is being one of the three Gorgons, who are described as being ugly, monstrous and terrible (Morford). A resistance to this narrative has long been surfacing, often through the art that depicts her. Rubens’ own painting of Medusa can be seen as an example of humanizing her. She is painted as young and beautiful, and a feeling of horror and tragedy can be felt when gazing upon the Head of Medusa. This sense of injustice presented through art has helped to slowly shift the modern world’s perspective. The mistreatment of victims has been a theme in patriarchal societies since the telling of this myth, as well as existing long before it. Medusa’s tragic story has become more and more relevant as discussions about abuse and assault have become more transparent. She is sometimes even depicted as a symbol of women’s resilience against the society that villainizes them. The symbolism of this perspective of Medusa has gained real power in modern society. Although a head of snakes can still be seen as a Halloween costume every year, more and more people can associate the myth with the reality of abuse and blame and see that the real monsters of Medusa’s myth are the ones who made her look like one.
Works Cited
Glennon, Madeleine. “Medusa in Ancient Greek Art: Essay: The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.” The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mar. 2017
Morford, Mark, et al. “Classical Mythology” (12th Edition). Oxford University Press Academic US, 2023.