Perseus Beheading Medusa, II
1944
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View on museum website →Medium
etching, engraving, and aquatint
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1946.11.131
Art Historical Context
In the National Gallery of Art's Rosenwald Collection, André Racz's *Perseus Beheading Med, II* (1944) captures a dramatic moment from Greek mythology. The hero Perseus, armed with a sword and mirrored shield to avoid Medusa's petrifying, triumphs over the Gorgon in a scene rich with tension and heroism. Created amid World War II, Racz—a Hungarian-born printmaker who emigrated to the United States—drew on classical myths to explore timeless themes of confrontation and victory, perhaps echoing the era's global struggles. This print masterfully combines etching, engraving, and aquatint techniqu...