Head of Medusa

Antonio Canova's "Head of Medusa," created circa 1801, is a plaster sculpture. Its dimensions are 31 × 31.8 × 30.5 cm, with a total height of 116.3 cm including its socle. Classified as sculpture within the Painting and Sculpture of Europe department, the work is attributed to Italian culture.

The sculpture was acquired by the Art Institute in 2002. Its provenance traces back to a sale at Sotheby's, London, on December 14, 2001, where it was purchased by Daniel Katz, Limited, London, before being sold to the Art Institute. The credit line for the acquisition is the Lacy Armour Endowment.

The "Head of Medusa" has been featured in exhibitions including "Canova: Sketching in Clay" in Washington, D.C. (June 11–October 9, 2023, though not in the catalogue for this venue) and subsequently at the Art Institute of Chicago (November 19, 2023–March 18, 2024, Chicago only). It has also been documented in scholarly literature, specifically Bruce Boucher's "Head of Medusa" in *Museum Studies 29* (2003).