The Greek mythological statue clutching the severed head of Perseus, called “Medusa with the Head of Perseus,” was unveiled in Collect Pond Park, located across the street from the Manhattan courthouse where Harvey Weinstein was convicted of sexual assault, the New York Times reported.

Argentine-Italian artist Luciano Garbati commissioned the work, and it was intended to be a feminist response to Benvenuto Cellini’s 16th- century work “Perseus With the Head of Medusa.”

In the original work, Perseus holds up Medusa’s head by her mane full of snakes.

Benvenuto Cellini's original statue, Perseus With the Head of Medusa

Garbati made a sculpture that could reverse that story, creating it from Medusa’s perspective and giving some insight into the woman behind the monster.

Sculptor Luciano Garbati poses for photos next to his seven-foot statue of Medusa holding the head of Greek hero Perseus, in Collect Pond Park which is located across the street from Manhattan Supreme Court where Harvey Weinstein was convicted

Other critics wondered why, if the sculpture was intended to refer to sexual violence, Medusa carried the head of Perseus and not Poseidon, her rapist.

“I would say I am honored by the fact that the sculpture has been chosen as a symbol,” Garbati said about the debate over his statue.

But Garbati claims his statue is mythologically accurate, saying that it was a direct response to the 16th-century work.

The artist also suggested that critics look to literature from a recent exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that showed how artistic depictions of Medusa changed from beastly to beautiful, beginning in the fifth century B.C.

Source: breitbart.com - CBS New York - New York Times