In 1545, Benvenuto Cellini, a sculptor, now in his mid-forties, left Paris to return to his hometown of Florence, Italy. Cellini had established his reputation by executing a magnificent salt cellar in gold (1540) for the French king Francis I, as well as the large bronze Nymph of Fontainebleau (1543) for his palace.Florence at the time was under the rule of Cosimo I de’ Medici, the second duke of Florence, following the assassination in 1437 of Alessandro, the first duke. Cosimo saw in Cellini an opportunity to patronise the arts in the great Florentine tradition of his ancestors, and Cellini was happy to oblige. Much of what is known of this encounter is through Cellini’s autobiography1, a work that has achieved classic status.According to Cellini, Cosimo suggested a sculpture depicting the Greek myth of Perseus beheading the monstrous Medusa. Barely a decade earlier, Cosimo had similarly beheaded the leaders of an army of exiles, who sought to unseat him and return Florence to its republican roots. The sculpture would stand in Piazza della Signoria, the square outside Palazzo Vecchio (‘Old Palace’) where Cosimo lived.In the square stood two statues by Renaissance masters, both symbolising the victory of the underdog seeking to protect the biblical homeland against tyrants. The first, Donatello’s Judith and Holofernes (1456–57), was erected in the time of Cosimo de’ Medici (the Elder), the founder of the dynasty. The second, Michelangelo’s David (1504), celebrated the Republicans driving the Medici from Florence half a century later. Also in the square stood the more recent Hercules and Cacus (1534) by Cellini’s rival Bartolommeo Bandinelli. Each of these works was championed by the regime in power, whether Medici or Republican, to represent their upholding of Florentine freedom and values. These existing sculptures presented a unique challenge to Cellini — to produce a work that could coexist with and yet surpass its peers. Cosimo, on seeing a model of the proposed sculpture, had declared it would be the ‘finest piece in the piazza’, causing Cellini to modestly demur that he would be in the company of the ‘two greatest men who have ever lived since the days of the ancients.’ Cellini nevertheless had ambitions to distinguish his work from Renaissance sculpture by incorporating ideas from Mannerism, a style that had arisen in the 1520s and would last until the Baroque era of the 1590s. Mannerism rejected the idealism of Renaissance art and sought to introduce distortions in perspective and scale. Mannerist sculptors also pushed the boundaries of their art by creating nudes in unnatural and complex poses. As the work progressed, according to Cellini, Cosimo would often come and sit in his workshop to observe and assess his work, and after seeing the initial iron and clay cast, the duke became convinced that it would be impossible for the molten bronze to reach the extremities of Perseus before it cooled. Cellini flamboyantly claims that he threw his own cups and plates into the furnace to ensure the job was indeed finished.Standing contrapposto: with one leg bearing the weight whilst the other is slightly bent at the knee, Perseus holds Medusa’s head high above her decapitated body. The curve of his stance emphasises his idealised figure — an influence from classical Greek art which was central to Renaissance sculpture. Although Perseus’s muscular body directly reflects Renaissance sculpture, Medusa’s contorted body, in contrast, shows Mannerist influences. The unnaturally orchestrated limbs, exaggerated movements, and unusual negative space (the space between objects) contrasts with Perseus’s natural pose.Cellini unveiled Perseus with the Head of Medusa on 27 April 1554. Through blending Renaissance and Mannerist elements, Perseus reflects Cosimo I seizing power in Florence — metaphorically parading the severed head of the Republic. Cosimo was delighted with the effect. While a century earlier Donatello’s sculpture had chronicled Cosimo the Elder’s rise in Florentine politics, Cellini’s work presents a dynasty: Cosimo I’s consolidation of his family’s power.