Perseus as Alter Ego of Ferdinand I

0464638 - FLÚ 2017 RIV CZ eng J - Journal Article
Bažant, Jan
Perseus as Alter Ego of Ferdinand I.
Studia Hercynia. Roč. 20, č. 1 (2016), s. 127-150. ISSN 1212-5865. E-ISSN 2336-8144
Institutional support: RVO:67985955
Keywords : Ferdinand I * Perseus * Andromeda * Renaissance art * relief sculpture * allegory
Subject RIV: AB - History
http://studiahercynia.ff.cuni.cz/en/magazin/2016-1-2/

The paper analyses three relief sculptures that decorate spandrels of the northern façade of the Prague Belvedere, which was built by Ferdinand I in 1538–c.1550. Their uniqueness consists in that it is the first series inspired by the myth of Perseus in Renaissance architectural sculpture. We find here, from left to right: Perseus freeing Andromeda, Perseus turning Atlas into the rock by showing him the head of Medusa, and Pegasus creating a source of poetical inspiration. At the right follows a relief sculpture with the monogram, FA: Ferdinand I and Anna, his wife. It is the only inscription in this villa and its position above the original entrance arcade entitles us to regard it as the crucial image in the series of relief sculptures that decorates the building. We may, therefore, consider Perseus as alter ego of Ferdinand I.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0263589