{"data":{"id":160236,"api_model":"artworks","api_link":"https:\/\/api.artic.edu\/api\/v1\/artworks\/160236","is_boosted":false,"title":"Head of Medusa","alt_titles":null,"thumbnail":{"lqip":"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhBAAFAPQAAGlmYW1rZ2dnaGlpaHV1dXt7eoJ9doqDeZuJc5GRkZiXlq2dh6OXia6kl7GztLKztb6+v76\/v8LCwsTExAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAAAAAAALAAAAAAEAAUAAAUR4HAYgrIgidMwDxQA0VQQUggAOw==","width":1815,"height":2250,"alt_text":"A work made of plaster."},"main_reference_number":"2002.606","has_not_been_viewed_much":false,"boost_rank":null,"date_start":1796,"date_end":1806,"date_display":"c. 1801","date_qualifier_title":"","date_qualifier_id":null,"artist_display":"Antonio Canova (Italian, 1757\u20131822)","place_of_origin":"Italy","description":"<p>Neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova dominated Rome\u2019s artistic scene at the turn of the 19th century. This plaster is a partial model for his large-scale marble statue <em>Perseus Holding the Head of Medusa<\/em>. According to Greek mythology, Medusa was a serpent-haired creature called a Gorgon whose gaze turned anyone who beheld her into stone. Perseus killed Medusa as she slept by using a mirrored shield to approach her and sever her head, which he continued to carry as a weapon, using it to petrify his enemies. Here, Canova depicted Medusa\u2019s decapitated head, with its blank eyes, slack mouth, and cheeks caressed by snakes.<\/p>\n","short_description":"This plaster is a partial model for Canova's large-scale marble statue <em>Perseus Holding the Head of Medusa<\/em>. According to Greek mythology, Medusa was a serpent-haired creature whose gaze turned anyone who beheld her into stone. Perseus killed Medusa as she slept by using a mirrored shield to approach her and sever her head. Here, Canova depicted Medusa\u2019s decapitated head, with its blank eyes, slack mouth, and cheeks caressed by snakes.","dimensions":"31 \u00d7 31.8 \u00d7 30.5 cm (12 1\/4 \u00d7 12 9\/16 \u00d7 12 1\/16 in.); With socle: 116.3 \u00d7 53.4 \u00d7 49.6 cm (45 3\/4 \u00d7 21 \u00d7 19 1\/2 in.)","dimensions_detail":[{"depth":30,"width":31,"height":31,"diameter":null,"clarification":null},{"depth":49,"width":53,"height":116,"diameter":null,"clarification":"With socle"}],"medium_display":"Plaster","inscriptions":null,"credit_line":"Lacy Armour Endowment","catalogue_display":null,"publication_history":"Bruce Boucher, \u201cHead of Medusa,\u201d Notable Acquisitions at the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum Studies 29, 2 (2003): 62-63 (ill.).","exhibition_history":"Washington, DC, Canova: Sketching in Clay, June 11\u2013Oct. 9, 2023, not in cat.; Art Institue of Chicago, Nov. 19, 2023-Mar. 18, 2024 [Chicago only].","provenance_text":"Sold, Sotheby's, London, 14 December 2001, lot 117, to Daniel Katz, Limited, London [according to Danny Katz]; sold to the Art Institute, 2002.","edition":null,"publishing_verification_level":"Web Cataloged","internal_department_id":14,"fiscal_year":2003,"fiscal_year_deaccession":null,"is_public_domain":true,"is_zoomable":true,"max_zoom_window_size":-1,"copyright_notice":null,"has_multimedia_resources":false,"has_educational_resources":false,"has_advanced_imaging":false,"colorfulness":16.7059,"color":{"h":45,"l":55,"s":0,"percentage":0.07208250324938843,"population":635},"latitude":null,"longitude":null,"latlon":null,"is_on_view":true,"on_loan_display":null,"gallery_title":"Gallery 219","gallery_id":2147483613,"nomisma_id":null,"artwork_type_title":"Sculpture","artwork_type_id":3,"department_title":"Painting and Sculpture of Europe","department_id":"PC-10","artist_id":33858,"artist_title":"Antonio Canova","alt_artist_ids":[],"artist_ids":[33858],"artist_titles":["Antonio Canova"],"category_ids":["PC-10"],"category_titles":["Painting and Sculpture of Europe"],"term_titles":["Neoclassicism","sculpting","plaster","Greek mythology","sculpture","bust\/head","nineteenth century","19th century","model-making","casting (process)","Italian","mythological figures","mythical","woman","monsters","mythology"],"style_id":"TM-5983","style_title":"Neoclassicism","alt_style_ids":["TM-15636","TM-13203"],"style_ids":["TM-5983","TM-15636","TM-13203"],"style_titles":["Neoclassicism","nineteenth century","19th century"],"classification_id":"TM-13","classification_title":"sculpture","alt_classification_ids":["TM-347","TM-14164"],"classification_ids":["TM-13","TM-347","TM-14164"],"classification_titles":["sculpture","bust\/head","Italian"],"subject_id":"TM-12707","alt_subject_ids":["TM-12704","TM-15159","TM-15749","TM-12263","TM-8766"],"subject_ids":["TM-12707","TM-12704","TM-15159","TM-15749","TM-12263","TM-8766"],"subject_titles":["Greek mythology","mythological figures","mythical","woman","monsters","mythology"],"material_id":"TM-2439","alt_material_ids":[],"material_ids":["TM-2439"],"material_titles":["plaster"],"technique_id":"TM-12999","alt_technique_ids":["TM-4050","TM-3881"],"technique_ids":["TM-12999","TM-4050","TM-3881"],"technique_titles":["sculpting","model-making","casting (process)"],"theme_titles":[],"image_id":"8aa44471-0c6e-1880-c642-53d57f47636e","alt_image_ids":[],"document_ids":[],"sound_ids":[],"video_ids":[],"text_ids":[],"section_ids":[],"section_titles":[],"site_ids":[],"suggest_autocomplete_all":[{"input":["2002.606"],"contexts":{"groupings":["accession"]}},{"input":["Head of Medusa"],"weight":4248,"contexts":{"groupings":["title"]}}],"source_updated_at":"2026-05-13T10:58:07-05:00","updated_at":"2026-08-06T12:09:38-05:00","timestamp":"2026-09-07T00:15:12-05:00"},"info":{"license_text":"The `description` field in this response is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Generic License (CC-By) and the Terms and Conditions of artic.edu. All other data in this response is licensed under a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) 1.0 designation and the Terms and Conditions of artic.edu.","license_links":["https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/","https:\/\/www.artic.edu\/terms"],"version":"1.15"},"config":{"iiif_url":"https:\/\/www.artic.edu\/iiif\/2","website_url":"http:\/\/www.artic.edu"}}