Have you ever been judged and condemned and no one will listen to your side of the story. Maybe they don’t want to hear the truth? Making a long story short. That’s what happened to Medusa. She was a beautiful girl (okay maybe a gorgon) who served in Athena’s temple. She was so beautiful that she was seduced (polite word) by Poseidon. Athena blames Medusa for this offense (where have we heard that before) and curses her for defiling her temple. Medusa is cursed with snakes for hair and a gaze that turns men to stone. Perseus kills Medusa by chopping off her head while she’s sleeping and gives the head to Athena.
I knew I wanted to paint Medusa next in my series of Mythic Women and ideas were formulating in my head. It’s spring here in Virginia and flowers are in bloom. While walking my doggie I came upon an amazing peony plant with huge yellow blooms (somewhat an unusual color for peonies.) I stopped and took this photo.
Can you see in the center? I saw Medusa hiding in the center with snakes flowing. This is what I used as the basis of my painting.
Looking at how other artists have represented Medusa, I used this image of a famous marble sculpture located at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. It’s by Italian artist Antonio Canova.
Supposedly, even after Perseus (that’s him in this sculpture) chopped off her head, the head retained its power to turn anyone who looked at it to stone.
In my version I wanted her to still have life and beauty, living in a beautiful peony, hidden from the cruelty of others. For company, I added, like a butterfly landing on the peony, her off spring, Pegasus. Sired by Poseidon, Pegasus sprang from Medusa’s neck at the point when Perseus lopped off her head.
susan krieg 