Head of Medusa | Peter Paul Rubens | 1618 Franz Ludwig Catel Carlos Schwabe’s Death and the

Carlos Schwabe’s Death and the Gravedigger (1890) is a hauntingly poetic exploration of mortality

while leaving parts of the figure and background unfinished creates a sense of immediacy and intimacy

Rembrandt's use of light and shadow brings a dramatic intensity to the scene

introspective moments

This iconic work is renowned for its intricate detail

Head of Medusa | Peter Paul Rubens | 1618 Franz Ludwig Catel Carlos Schwabe’s Death and theAbout the artwork: Rubens captures the severed head of Medusa at the very climax of her myth, moments after the hero Perseus has decapitated her. Her eyes, once capable of turning men to stone, are now frozen open in a grotesque expression of terror and agony. But Rubens does not stop at horrorhe transforms the myth into a Baroque spectacle. The painter surrounds her lifeless face with a chaotic mass of writhing snakes that seem to spill out of the