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Door Knocker in Form of Medusa
1925
Emile-Antoine Bourdelle
France (1861-1929)
Bronze
22 7/8 inches high
gift of Atherton and Winifred W. Bean 83.31

• The story of Perseus (PURR-see-us) slaying the snake-haired Gorgon Medusa (meh-DOO-sa) is one of many Greek monster-slayer myths celebrating the victory of good over evil.
• Ancient Greeks decorated buildings with images of Medusa to ward off evil. This 19th-century Medusa was also made to decorate a building.
• While the facial features of this door knocker recall archaic Greek sculpture, the curvilinear snakes reflect the decorative Art Nouveau (new-VOE) STYLE.

Polydectes (pol-ee-DECK-teez), evil king of the island of Seriphos (SERR-i-fos), fell madly in love with a beautiful woman named Danae (DAN-uh-ee). He wanted to marry Danae, but wanted nothing to do with her adult son, Perseus. Hoping to get rid of Perseus, Polydectes ruthlessly tricked the young man into brashly undertaking a deadly mission - to bring him the head of a dreaded monster called Medusa.

Medusa was one of three fearsome Gorgon sisters who lived far away in a secret hiding place. The sisters had brass claws, golden wings, boars' tusks, and masses of hissing snakes for hair. Anyone who looked into their frightful faces instantly turned into stone.

Fortunately, the gods Athena (a-THEE-na) and Hermes (HER-meez), and three nymphs offered to help Perseus. Athena gave him a shiny bronze shield and Hermes gave him a sword that could not be bent by the Gorgons' scales. The nymphs gave Perseus winged shoes so that he could fly, a cap that made him invisible, and a pouch in which to carry the Gorgon's head.

Perseus flew first to the home of the aged ones. These three women, who were sisters to the Gorgons, were born with gray hair and shared a single eye and tooth between them. Wearing his cap of invisibility, Perseus snatched the eye as one sister passed it to another. Threatening to keep the eye, Perseus coerced them into revealing the Gorgon's secret hiding place.

Perseus arrived at the cave of the Gorgons, where, by good fortune, they were all asleep. In order to see Medusa without turning to stone, Perseus located her grotesque face in a reflection on his shiny shield. He swiftly cut off her head, dropped it into his bag, and fled from Medusa's angry sisters. When Perseus returned to Seriphos, the evil Polydectes laughed at him and asked what was in his sack. Perseus pulled out the horrifying head of Medusa and turned Polydectes to stone.

You see, Medusa's severed head retained its power to turn people into stone, so Perseus carried it on many adventures, using it to defeat his enemies. Eventually, in gratitude for her protection, Perseus gave Medusa's head to Athena, who placed it on her breastplate to ward off evil.

Medusa
Perseus's story is one of many Greek monster-slayer myths that features the theme of good outwitting evil. Since at least the 6th century B.C., Greeks placed images of Medusa's terrifying head on shields and buildings in order to frighten away enemies and evil spirits.

According to 4th-century B.C. revisions of her story, Medusa was a beautiful woman who was turned into a monster by jealous Athena. At the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, writers and artists popularized the image of Medusa as a beautiful young woman.

French Sculpture
No single style dominated French sculpture at the turn of the century. Sculptors worked in NATURALISTIC, expressionistic, and ABSTRACT symbolic styles. In response to the popular appeal of the consciously decorative Art Nouveau style, many artists incorporated its organic forms and long, sinuous curves into their art.

Emile-Antoine Bourdelle
Emile-Antoine Bourdelle (ay-MEEL an-TWAN boor-DELL) was an eclectic sculptor who drew upon a number of the diverse trends of his time, including elements of Art Nouveau. He drew most heavily upon the organic qualities of French Romanesque and Gothic cathedral sculpture and the simple forms of archaic Greek sculpture. Motivated by his conviction that history's greatest sculptures were those integrated with architecture, Bourdelle created many of his sculptures for architectural settings.

Door Knocker in Form of Medusa
In this bronze door knocker, Bourdelle depicts the severed head of Medusa, hanging from Perseus's clenched fist. Above his hand a bunch of snakes writhe, striking out as if they are going to attack. Below, only a few of Medusa's many braids actually look like scaly snakes.

As was popular at the turn of the century, Bourdelle represents Medusa as a beautiful young woman rather than the horrible monster of the original story. Her facial features - high cheekbones, narrow nose, square chin, and the corners of her small mouth - consciously recall the expressively modeled faces of archaic Greek sculptures of young women. The dominant curves of her hair, however, reflect the popular Art Nouveau style.

Bourdelle's clever transformation of Medusa into an ornamental door knocker attests to his commitment to integrating sculpture and architecture. Two entwined braids extend from ear to ear to create the knocker's handle. When lifted back and forth, Medusa's head would knock against the circular form behind it. Bourdelle produced ten casts of this door knocker, an indication that he designed it for a general market rather than for a specific door.

Look
1. Tell the story of Perseus and Medusa. Where do you see Perseus in this bronze sculpture? (The hand holding the head of Medusa is Perseus's hand.) Where do you see snakes? (Medusa's hair, above Perseus's hand.) According to the story, what would happen if you saw this scene in real life? (You would turn to stone!)

2. This bronze sculpture had a special purpose. Can you tell what it was used for? (A door knocker.) Where is the handle? (Two braids extending from Medusa's ears loop down under her head to form the handle.) What part of this sculpture is the knocker? (Medusa's head knocks against the circle behind it.) How can you tell? (The handle is attached to the head.)

3. According to the story of Perseus and Medusa, Medusa was so grotesquely ugly that anyone who looked at her would turn to stone. Do you think the face of Medusa in Bourdelle's sculpture is ugly? Explain. Discuss the 4th-century B.C. revisions of the story that cast Medusa as a beautiful young woman. Bourdelle's sculpture of Medusa's face recalls archaic Greek sculpture.

4. When Bourdelle made this door knocker, Art Nouveau was a popular STYLE. Sculpture created in the Art Nouveau style is characterized by long elegant curves. Where do you see long elegant curves in the door knocker? (Medusa's hair.)

2. This imposing brass door knocker is almost 23 inches high. Describe the kind of door you might hang it on. A bathroom door? A broom closet door? Why or why not? How big would a door have to be to accommodate this door knocker? (Very large - even the front door of an average family home would be too small to accommodate it.)

3. Bourdelle believed that history's greatest sculptures were those integrated with architecture. His transformation of Medusa into an ornamental door knocker illustrates his conviction. Where have you seen examples of sculpture integrated with architecture in your neighborhood? In places you have visited? Describe them.

4. The story of Perseus and Medusa is one of many Greek monster-slayer myths celebrating the victory of good over evil. Can you think of any stories popular today in which an evil monster is conquered? (Batman, the Ghostbusters, and Alien movies, Rumpelstiltskin, Dracula, Frankenstein.)