ASPECTA MEDUSA |
. 1867.
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Aspecta Medusa
Signed with a monogram and dated and dated 1867 at the upper right
Coloured Chalks; the sheet was extended at the lower edge
22 x 20 1/2 inches
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Virginia Surtees , C. P. Mathews 1867 , 1500 , , , . , , .
Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Aspecta Medusa shows Medusa not in her monstrous form, but as a beautiful woman. According to Greek mythology, Medusa was once a maiden so lovely that her beauty rivaled that of Athena herself — which is why the envious goddess transformed Medusa's hair into snakes writhing from her head. Medusa, one of the Gorgon sisters, the most beautiful, and the only mortal one, offended Athena by being raped by Poseidon in one of Athena's temples, thereby desecrating it. Chrysaor and Pegasus were born from the drops of Medusa's blood which fell in the sea; some say that they sprang from Medusa's neck as Perseus beheaded her, a "higher" birth (such as the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus). Chrysaor is said to have been king of Iberia (Andorra, Gibraltar, Spain and Portugal). Chrysaor had one son, Geryon, from Callirrhoe, daughter of Oceanus.Anyone who glimpsed Medusa's horrific appearance would instantly turn into stone. In this picture, however, Medusa retains her original beauty. She is the typical Rossettian ideal: she has a strong facial structure, her lips are full, and her long, reddish hair has been left loose and flowing. Yet she has an air of doom about her. Medusa merges with the murky background, gazing downwards into the darkness as her head tilts ominously to the side. In Greek mythology Medusa was the monstrous daughter of a sea god. Her appearance was horrific; her hair consisted of waving snakes and she was capable of reducing people to stone by looking at them. She was loved by Poseidon with whom she lived in the mythic west. However Perseus came in search of her and slew her. At the moment of her death she gave birth to Pegasus and Chrysaor. The blood from her body was taken by Asclepius; blood from one vein was capable of reviving the dead, whereas that from another served as a lethal dose. In Greek mythology, Chrysaor (Greek: Χρυσάωρ, Khrusaōr; English translation: "He who has a golden armament"), the brother of Pegasus, was often depicted as a young man, the son of Poseidon and Medusa. However, Chrysaor is sometimes said to be a giant or a winged boar. Chrysaor and his brother, the winged horse Pegasus, were not born until Perseus chopped off Medusa's head. Chrysaor was also said to be born from the neck of Medusa, whereas Pegasus was born from Medusa's blood.
In the history of art the subject of Perseus slaying Medusa is often taken, and the single head of Medusa is also portrayed. From an early time Medusa was represented as a beautiful girl, if with horrible attributes, in contradiction of the accounts of her exceeding ugliness in Greek mythology.
Virginia Surtees has given an account of the commissioning of this subject, as an oil painting, by C. P. Mathews, in 1867 (I, 107). Mathews was to pay 1500 guineas for the work but in the event rejected the final design on the grounds that he disliked the severed head. The present drawing is a version of the drawing shown to C. P. Mathews, which is in the Birmingham City Museum and Art Gallery.
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Rossetti wrote poetry which took as its theme Perseus's treatment of the Medusa:
ASPECTA MEDUSA
(For a Drawing)
Andromeda, by Perseus sav'd and wed,
Hanker'd each day to see the Gorgon's head:
Till o'er a fount he held it, bade her lean,
And mirror'd in the wave was safely seen
That death she liv'd by.
Let not thine eyes know
Any forbidden thing itself, although
It once should save as well as kill: but be
Its shadow upon life enough for thee.
(Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Aspecta Medusa)
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Figure: Pen and ink. Andromeda, leaning against Perseus,
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1868. .
'Head of Andromeda'
1868
Red chalk
Museum no. CAI 6
Bequeathed by Constantine Alexander Ionides
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Rossetti made this highly finished study from his model Alexa Wilding in preparation for a painting. The picture was to show Perseus holding the severed head of Medusa - which turned to stone those who looked directly at it - above a pool of water, so Andromeda could safely see its reflection. The study shows Andromeda leaning awkwardly over to look.
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I have looked at the picture 'Aspecta Medusa' attentivly. Lo and behold! Medusa is not Medusa at all! Its Andromeda's head study for Aspecta Medusa. Let us compare two pictures below. The women look in different directions, but they are identical. I would like to know, if I the first one who discover this. Copyright is my.
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1867.
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