This sculpture depicts the Greek goddess of war, the arts and wisdom - the latter symbolised by the owl on her helmet - known as Minerva in Roman mythology. On her breastplate is the winged head with snakes for hair that was used to terrify the enemy and which refers to the Gorgon Medusa. Punished by Athena and transformed into a monster, Medusa turned all those who looked at her to stone.
Hübner, Emil, Die Antiken Bildwerke in Madrid, Druck Und Verlag Von Georg Reimer, Berlín, 1862.
Barrón, Eduardo, Catálogo de la escultura. Museo Nacional de Pintura y Escultura., Madrid, 1908, pp. 225, n.317.
Blanco Freijeiro, Antonio, Catálogo de la escultura. Museo del Prado, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 1957, pp. 162.
Blanco, Antonio; Lorente, Manuel, Catálogo de la escultura. Museo del Prado (2ª ed.), Patronato Nacional de Museos, Madrid, 1981, pp. 162.
Coppel Areizaga, Rosario, Catálogo de la escultura de época moderna. Museo del Prado: siglos XVI-XVIII, Museo del Prado; Fundación Marcelino Botín, Madrid, 1998, pp. 386.
Elvira Barba, Miguel Angel, 'Winckelmann, Mengs y las colecciones escultóricas de Azara.' En:, El legado de Johann Joachim Winckelmann en España. Actas congreso internacional 20-21 Oct.2011, 2014, pp. 121-136 [132 nota 71].
[¿1?]26. [Algo ilegible]
Inscribed.
On underside
317 [Algo borrado]
Inscribed in black.
Plinth
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