Where Is Perseus with the Head of Medusa? Museum Location

Q: Where can I see Canova's Perseus?

It's in the Cortile del Belvedere at the Vatican Museums in Rome, displayed near the Apollo Belvedere. A second version is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Q: How does this relate to the Apollo Belvedere?

Canova deliberately based the pose on the Apollo Belvedere. When Napoleon took the Apollo to Paris in 1798, the Pope put Canova's Perseus in its place. The marble stands 242 cm (about 8 feet) tall. It's considered one of the finest Neoclassical sculptures ever made.

Q: What does Perseus with the Head of Medusa depict?

Antonio Canova the figure stands in a near-identical pose, but holds Medusa's severed head instead of a bow. Canova finished the first version in 1801 and a second in 1804.

Antonio Canova carved this marble Perseus as a Neoclassical response to the ancient Apollo Belvedere. The figure stands in a near-identical pose, but holds Medusa's severed head instead of a bow. Canova finished the first version in 1801 and a second in 1804.

When Napoleon looted the Apollo Belvedere from the Vatican in 1798, Pope Pius VII placed Canova's Perseus in its spot as a worthy replacement. The Apollo was eventually returned after Waterloo, but the Perseus stayed. It's still in the Vatican Museums, in the same Cortile del Belvedere gallery as the Apollo it was meant to replace.

It's in the Cortile del Belvedere at the Vatican Museums in Rome, displayed near the Apollo Belvedere. A second version is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Canova deliberately based the pose on the Apollo Belvedere. When Napoleon took the Apollo to Paris in 1798, the Pope put Canova's Perseus in its place. The marble stands 242 cm (about 8 feet) tall. It's considered one of the finest Neoclassical sculptures ever made.

Antonio Canova the figure stands in a near-identical pose, but holds Medusa's severed head instead of a bow. Canova finished the first version in 1801 and a second in 1804.

Perseus with the Head of Medusa

Details

The Artist

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About Perseus with the Head of Medusa

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