Capitoline Museum. Marble 1644-1648AD. According to Ovid, the mythical Medusa had the power to turn to stone anyone who looked directly at her. Bernini's is a veritable portrait of the most beautiful and deadly of the Gorgons (this is, in fact, a a Bust, and not a truncated Head) at the very moment of her metamorphosis.
The bust is one of the most famous masterpieces of Roman portraiture and depicts the emperor in the guise of Hercules, whose attributes he has been given: the lion's skin over his head, the club in this right hand, and the golden apples of Hesperides in his left hand as a reminder of the Greek hero's feats.
4th century AD
