Perseus Fighting the Warriors of Phineus

Guglielmo della Porta

Basic information

ID: С-II-678
Author: Guglielmo della Porta
Name: Perseus Fighting the Warriors of Phineus
Date of creation: after 1555
Country: Italy
Technique: moulding
Material: bronze
Dimensions (height x width, cm): 13 x 23.5

Additionally

Type: sculpture (relief) sculpture (plaquette)
Genre: mythological painting
Plot: Mythological Scene
Provenance: Collection of Wladyslaw Lozinski in Lviv Collection of Lviv City Gallery

Information about author

Author: Guglielmo della Porta
Artist's lifetime: 1515–1577
Country: Italy
Biography: Guglielmo della Porta (1510 or 1515–1577) was an Italian architect and sculptor of the late Renaissance (Mannerism) period. He was born into a well-known family of stonemasons, sculptors, and architects in northern Italy. Around 1537, he moved to Rome, where he was greatly influenced by Michelangelo, who later highly praised the artist. In 1547, della Porta was appointed to the Papal mint. His creative work was diverse. The sculptor began his artistic training under the guidance of his uncle Giovanni Giacomo, who took him to the construction site of Milan Cathedral and entrusted him with the sculpture and reinterpretation of Leonardo da Vinci's works. He later moved with his uncle to Genoa, where he perfected his artistic skills. The sculptor studied ancient Roman reliefs, sarcophagi, and tombstones. He created small bronze reliefs, referencing the ancient ones, plaques, sculptural Crucifixes in gold and silver, statuettes, and candelabra. His plaques were repeatedly copied by his followers in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

Object description

The work belongs to a series of eight mythology themed oval plaquettes by Guglielmo della Porta. In Greek mythology, the hero Perseus was known for slaying Medusa, a gorgon with snake hair whose grotesque appearance turned people to stone. The relief depicts a later episode in the hero's life. The wedding of Perseus and Andromeda was interrupted by a warlike crowd led by Phineus, a disappointed suitor. After a fierce battle, Perseus finally won, turning his opponents to stone with Medusa's head. The artwork is a dynamic multi-figure composition with Perseus in the centre – a warrior in a helmet with a sword in his right hand lowered to the ground and Medusa’s head in his outstretched left hand. On the right are the bodies of enemies killed by the monster's gaze. In the background, against the backdrop of an architectural arch, the battle between Perseus' companions and Phineus' warriors continues. On the left, at the table, sits Andromeda's father, King Cepheus of Ethiopia, in whose palace the wedding is taking place, and to his right is his wife, Cassiopeia.

Inscriptions

On the reverse side are inscriptions: "55. G.N.M.L."; "№ С-ІІ-678 Львів ОКГ".

Legal regulation

Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery