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How does Caravaggio’s Head of Medusa connect the Medici family to the myth of Perseus?

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Caravaggio: The Conversion of St. Paul (second version) — Caravaggio *The Conversion of St. Paul* (second version), oil on canvas by Caravaggio, 1601; in Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome.

Caravaggio’s Head of the Medusa (1597–99) serves as a sophisticated tribute to the Medici family, specifically Ferdinand I de’ Medici, the grand duke of Tuscany. The painting was commissioned by Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte, the Medici family’s agent in Rome, and presented to the grand duke in 1601.12

The work connects the Medici to the Greek myth of Perseus through its unique physical design. Painted on a convex canvas attached to a wooden shield, the piece was intended to be worn. When the Medici ruler strapped the shield to his arm, he effectively assumed the role of the hero Perseus, who famously used a mirrored shield to slay the Gorgon Medusa without meeting her petrifying gaze.12

This identification was a calculated compliment, as the Medici family frequently associated themselves with the mythic hero Perseus—a tradition exemplified by Benvenuto Cellini’s famous sculpture created decades earlier.2