Head Of Medusa 1618

Peter Paul Reubens painted this unsettling oil on wood panel depicting the severed head of Medusa sometime in the 17th Century. Rubens, a Flemish artist, situates us within the ancient Greek myth, but also within a patriarchal society where the monstrous female figure must be vanquished. Medusa, once a beautiful woman, was punished by Athena for being raped by Poseidon in Athena’s temple. Turned into a Gorgon, her hair became snakes, and her gaze turned men to stone. Here, the drama unfolds with a grotesque realism. The horror, however, might also be tinged with a sense of empathy. Medusa, the victim of sexual violence, is further victimized in this moment of ultimate defeat. Rubens captures not just a monster's end, but a woman's tragedy, inviting us to consider the cost of power and the narratives we inherit.