TY - BOOK AU - Corretti,Christine TI - Cellini's Perseus and Medusa and the Loggia dei Lanzi: configurations of the body of state T2 - Art and material culture in Medieval and Renaissance Europe, SN - 9789004296787 AV - NB623.C3 A73 2015 U1 - 730.92 23 PY - 2015///] CY - Leiden, Boston PB - Brill KW - Cellini, Benvenuto, KW - Perseus (Cellini, Benvenuto) KW - fast KW - Gorgons (Greek mythology) in art KW - Art KW - Political aspects KW - Politics and government KW - Florence (Italy) KW - 1421-1737 KW - Italy KW - Florence KW - Criticism, interpretation, etc N1 - Includes bibliographical references (p. 157-172) and index; Preliminary Material -- 1 The Story of Perseus and Medusa, an Interpretation of Its Meaning, and the Topos of Decapitation -- 2 Cellini’s Perseus and Medusa: The Paradigm of Control -- 3 Renaissance Political Theory and Paradoxes of Power -- 4 The Goddess as Other and Same -- 5 The Sexual Symbolism of the Perseus and Medusa  -- 6 The Public Face of Justice -- 7 Classical and Grotesque Polities -- 8 Eleonora di Toledo and the Image of the Mother Goddess -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index; Available to subscribing member institutions only N2 - Benvenuto Cellini’s Perseus and Medusa , one of Renaissance Italy’s most complex sculptures, is the subject of this study, which proposes that the statue’s androgynous appearance is paradoxical. Symbolizing the male ruler overcoming a female adversary, the Perseus legitimizes patriarchal power; but the physical similarity between Cellini’s characters suggests the hero rose through female agency. Dr. Corretti argues that although not a surrogate for powerful Medici women, Cellini’s Medusa may have reminded viewers that Cosimo I de’ Medici’s power stemmed in part from maternal influence. Drawing upon a vast body of art and literature, Dr. Corretti concludes that Cellini and his contemporaries knew the Gorgon as a version of the Earth Mother, whose image is found in art for Medici women UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004296787 ER -