Artwork Page for Medusa

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Details / Information for Medusa

Medusa

1994

Barbara Petter Putnam

(American)
Culture
America
Medium
woodcut
Support
Japanese tissue
Measurements
Sheet: 69.5 x 131.8 cm (27 3/8 x 51 7/8 in.); Image: 60.7 x 121.8 cm (23 7/8 x 47 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1998.265
Impression
1
Copyright
Copyright
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Contemporary artists often work on a very large scale so that the image confronts the viewer aggessively. Putnam's portrait of a tree, appropriately cut from a plank of wood, is a powerful image. The title Medusa refers to a beautiful maiden whose hair, like the branches of the tree, was her chief glory. She dared to challenge the goddess Minerva, who changed Medusa's beautiful ringlets into hissing serpents, making her a terrible monster.
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Medusa

1994

Barbara Petter Putnam

(American)
America

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