Ovid's Medusa

24 inches diameter
Mixed oil, acrylic and crepe painting on basswood panel in the manner of Caravaggio's 1597 Medusa. (Oil painting with acrylic and crepe border)

Medusa is one of the most misunderstood and tragic of mythological characters. I've always believed that Medusa got a bad break. In Ovid's late version of her story Medusa was a young girl dedicated as a priestess in the temple of the goddess Athena.

The god Poseidon raped her in the temple. It wasn't the god rapist who Athena punished, however, but her priestess, disfiguring her into a hideous monster with a deadly gaze. Adding injuries to insult, unlike the Gorgons Medusa remained mortal, vulnerable to be slain by Perseus - a man deemed heroic. He used Medusa's head as a weapon before presenting it to Athena, who mounted it on her shield.

This is the second painting of Medusa that I’ve painted, the first is from 2022 of Medusa In the Shadow of Athena a 36x48-inch acrylic painting on canvas panel - that one the Medusa “before” and this one the “after”.