The Beauty and Horror of Caravaggio's Medusa

The petrifying beauty of Caravaggio’s Medusa (1597) has been an endless source of inspiration, fear, awe, disgust, and horror as a brutally realistic depiction of the mythological creature’s floating head after decapitation. Reflecting the Italian artist’s preoccupation with death and violence, the two versions of the painting – one created in 1596 and the other a year later – stand as a testament to Caravaggio’s masterful use of chiaroscuro and naturalism to accentuate the vicious reality of the narrative. Despite being a dramatic and intense portrayal of a story from Greek mythology, Caravaggio’s Medusa exudes infinite mystery and unparalleled psychological intensity.

Known for his mischievous nature and brushes with the law, Caravaggio permanently imprinted his personal experiences within his oeuvre. As art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon, who penned the book Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane, remarked: “whatever he set out to paint, he always ended up painting himself.” This could not be truer than in the case of Medusa, in which the troubled artist rendered a depiction of himself. Among his most intriguing works, the two Medusas, one signed and in a private collection and the other in the Uffizi Museum in Florence, are both self-portraits of Caravaggio, which adds another layer of symbolism to the psychologically and emotionally charged paintings.

Cunning Caravaggio

Globally known as simply Caravaggio, the Italian painter was born Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571 – 1610), and was one of the most talented and sought-after painters in late 16th-century Rome. After training in Milan, Caravaggio moved to Rome, where he quickly garnered attention for his radical evolution of chiaroscuro, using strong contrasts between light and dark. Elevating the technique, Caravaggio intensified pools of light and the depth of shadows, developing a new method known as tenebrism.

Caravaggio’s mastery over shadows and distinct penchant for selecting a moment from a narrative, be it religious or mythological, most posited with drama, intensely influenced subsequent generations of painters, making him one of the most significant figures of the Baroque period. Coupled with realism anchored in observing real life, Caravaggio’s oeuvre charted physical and emotional elements of the human condition instead of departing from it, which led art critic André Berne-Joffroy to remark “what begins in the work of Caravaggio is, quite simply, modern painting.”

The Myth Behind Medusa

A monster figure from Greek mythology, Medusa is one of the three Gorgons. The myths about her differ, and according to one story, she is the daughter of the sea-god Phorcus and Ceto. Medusa was one of the three Gorgon sisters who had wringing snakes instead of hair and the power to turn everyone who looked at them into stone, but unlike Euryale and Stheno, she was mortal. According to the Roman poet Ovid, Medusa was a gorgeous mortal woman serving as a priestess to the goddess Athena in her temple. After the sea god Poseidon became enamored with the girl, Athena punished her by transforming Medusa into a monstrous creature.

Perseus was the one who sealed her destiny by employing a trick to look at the reflection from the mirrored shield he was gifted by Athena to behead the snake-haired monster. Perseus then used Gorgon’s head to turn into stone the king Polydectes, who wanted to marry his mother forcefully, and then turned it over to Athena. The goddess placed Medusa’s head on her shield, the Aegis. In mythology, Medusa is a symbol of transformation, divine wrath, and a symbol of terror. Embodying the concept of the monstrous feminine, the snake-haired creature becomes a target of heroic quests and a testament to a hero’s skill and bravery.

Caravaggio’s Medusa

Caravaggio’s career unfolded during the time of the Counter-Reformation, a period marked by intense religious tension when artists were expected to produce works that echoed the teachings of the Catholic Church. Indeed, Caravaggio’s oeuvre was predominantly religious in nature, but the Italian maverick often found ways to express his non-conformist character by departing from the cannon and traditional iconography, as in The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula.

Medusa represents one of Caravaggio’s rare forays into mythological themes. What adds to the mystery is the existence of two versions, with the first one known as Murtula after the poet Gaspare Murtola, who penned the following words about Medusa: “Flee, for if your eyes are petrified in amazement, she will turn you to stone.” The first version is slightly smaller and signed Michel A F (Latin: Michel Angelo Fecit), while the second one, located in the Ufizzi Museum in Florence, is known as Medusa, or Testa di Medusa in Italian. It was commissioned by the Italian diplomat Francesco Maria del Monte, possibly after seeing the first one, as a gift to Ferdinando I de’ Medici.

Planned as a commemorative shield, the composition is simple yet captivating, featuring a close-up of Medusa’s severed head with her eyes wide open with terror and her mouth letting out a silent scream. Highlighting the drama of the moment, Caravaggio positioned the head diagonally while the realistically rendered snakes writhe and twist frantically. The background is monotonous except for streaks of blood splashing from Medusa’s neck. The carefully chosen deep shades of red, brown, and black contrast with the pallor of Medusa’s decapitated head, while the deep greens of heavy impasto create texture and dimension for the snakes. Caravaggio also uses tenebrism, an elevated form of chiaroscuro, to enhance the sense of drama and contrast in the painting, with areas of light and shadow sharply delineated for maximum impact.

A Self-Reflection

Although highlighting the overarching themes and symbolism of the original Greek myth, Caravaggio inscribed his own story into the painting. At the time, the famous painter encountered some troubles with the law, infusing his work with the fear of facing the consequences of his brash and often aggressive behavior. The theme of decapitation appeared several times throughout his work, including later works such as Judith Beheading Holofernes (c. 1598-99 or 1602) and Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (c. 1607-1610).

However, Caravaggio’s Medusa opens up the dark portal to thinking about mortality, exposing the viciousness of the act to incite a feeling of primal terror. In the painting, Caravaggio peered deep into the murky abyss of the human psyche, leaving an indelible mark on art history and inviting subsequent generations of artists to explore the horrors of the human condition.