If you see this message, your browser is unable to view the answers through dynamic HTML. The answers to the questions are:

  1. Where do you see Perseus in this bronze sculpture? (The hand holding the head of Medusa is Perseus's hand.)
  2. Where do you see snakes? (Medusa's hair, above Perseus's hand.)
  3. According to the story, what would happen if you saw this scene in real life? (You would turn to stone!)
  4. Can you tell what it was used for? (A door knocker.)
  5. Where is the handle? (Two braids extending from Medusa's ears loop down under her head to form the handle.)
  6. What part of this sculpture is the knocker? (Medusa's head knocks against the circle behind it.)
  7. How can you tell? (The handle is attached to the head.)
  8. Where do you see long elegant curves in the door knocker? (Medusa's hair.)
  9. Why do you think Medusa was a popular image for buildings? (Medusa provided protection for the inhabitants of buildings, much as she provided protection for Perseus and Athena.)
  10. How big would a door have to be to accommodate this door knocker? (Very large - even the front door of an average family home would be too small to accommodate it.)
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Door Knocker in Form of Medusa



Discussion Questions:

Door Knocker in Form of Medusa
Door Knocker in Form of Medusa
1925
Emile-Antoine Bourdelle
Bronze
Gift of Atherton and Winifred W. Bean

Key Ideas
Story
Background
Discussion Questions

Look

  1. Review the story of Perseus and Medusa.
    Where do you see Perseus in this bronze sculpture? The hand holding the head of Medusa is Perseus's hand.
    Where do you see snakes? Medusa's hair, above Perseus's hand.
    According to the story, what would happen if you saw this scene in real life? You would turn to stone!

  2. This bronze sculpture had a special purpose.
    Can you tell what it was used for? A door knocker.
    Where is the handle? Two braids extending from Medusa's ears loop down under her head to form the handle.
    What part of this sculpture is the knocker? Medusa's head knocks against the circle behind it.
    How can you tell? The handle is attached to the head.

  3. According to the original story of Perseus and Medusa, Medusa was so grotesquely ugly that anyone who looked at her would turn to stone. 4th-century B.C. revisions of the story cast Medusa as a beautiful young woman. Which version of the story do you think this 20th century artist was influenced by? What do you see that makes you say that?
  1. When Bourdelle made this door knocker, Art Nouveau was a popular STYLE. Sculpture created in the Art Nouveau style is characterized by long elegant curves.
    Where do you see long elegant curves in the door knocker? Medusa's hair.

Think

  1. The ancient Greeks placed images of Medusa's head on their buildings. Bourdelle made Medusa's head into a door knocker.
    Why do you think Medusa was a popular image for buildings? Recall how Perseus and then Athena used Medusa's head to protect them from their enemies. Medusa provided protection for the inhabitants of buildings, much as she provided protection for Perseus and Athena.

  2. This imposing brass door knocker is almost 23 inches high. Describe the kind of door you might hang it on. A bathroom door? An apartment door? Why or why not?
    How big would a door have to be to accommodate this door knocker? Very large - even the front door of an average family home would be too small to accommodate it.

  3. Bourdelle believed that history's greatest sculptures were those integrated with architecture. His transformation of Medusa into an ornamental door knocker illustrates his conviction. Where have you seen examples of sculpture integrated with architecture in your neighborhood? In places you have visited? Describe them.
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