The bust of the Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Medusa is made up of white marble and is 50 x 41 x 38 centimeters (museicapitolini.org). She is located in one of the many galleries in the Capitoline Museum. This depiction of Medusa is not a common side that most people picture when imagining the great mythical Medusa. Bernini gives Medusa a pained expression that makes her look as if she were about to cry out, yet her beauty remains undiminished. Other works of art that have portrayed Medusa give her an air of triumph and power because of her ability to petrify her victims. However, Bernini has chosen to make the image of Medusa with this expression to offer us another side of this prisoner of fate.
Some may say that Medusa’s expression- that was given to her by Bernini- is a symbol of her misery and grief. However, there are a few interpretations of her face that can be seen as the reason for her sorrow (museicapitolini.org).Medusa’s ability to petrify her victims was said to have been given to her as punishment for having disgraced one of the temples of Minerva. This can be the cause of the distorted face that Medusa has- because she knows of her destructive ability and her incapability to ever truly be close to anyone again. Bernini can pull from his viewers- through his creation of Medusa- a sense of sadness and empathy. Being able to procure this reaction for something that is as destructive as a monstrous creature is truly a deep and powerful ability. For a common mortal to feel the same as a creature that consorted with the gods is a phenomenal ability that Bernini possessed. I believe that Bernini did this as a representation of the common feelings and emotions that all humanity possesses. The symbolism of this work of art shows the idea that in some way we can all empathize with one another at some time in our life.
http://en.museicapitolini.org/museo/restauri/restauro_del_busto_di_medusa_di_gian_lorenzo_bernini
The Via Appia Antica is in itself a work of art. The creation of the Via Appia Antica, one of Rome’s first roads, was said have been around 312 B.C.E. (romefile.com). The original basalt slabs that paved the Ancient Appian Way are still existent – just a little worn away after thousands of years of use. Their resilience and presence is a reminder of their original purpose in the Roman culture. The Via Appia Antica stretches from Rome to Brindisi- connecting the world to Rome.
The Via Appia Antica, created by Appius Claudius, was created as a tool for better transportation and access to the great city of Rome(Blue Guide). Its creation was also a representation of the status of those who lived in Rome- through the way they adorned the grave sites of those that had passed. The citizens of the city took the bodies of their loved ones and buried them along the road. Those with higher statuses and more wealth were able to design the resting places of those they loved more ornately. This gesture not only paid tribute to the dead but also symbolized, to those passing along the Via Appia Antica, the wealth, honor, and splendor of the city they were about to encounter (class discussion). Many of these burial sites are still intact and greeting those traveling into Rome. The Roman reverence for their dead and the passion of self pride is evident through this unique artwork that we tread on daily. It is a reminder of their past history, customs, and religious beliefs that have withstood that test of time.
http://www.romefile.com/sights/via-appia-antica.php
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