Statues have always been intertwined with politics.

One of the most striking examples of the politics of statues can be found in Florence, right in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence’s town hall.
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In 1494, the Medici were ousted from Florence for the second time.

The Florentine republic under Girolamo Savonarola was born.
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A year later, in memory of the expulsion of Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici from Florence, Donatello's statue of Judith beheading Holofernes was placed at the side of the front door of the town hall, now adopting the symbolism of the expulsion of the tyrannical Medici.
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Six years later, the anti-Medicean, republican government of Florence commissioned 26-year-old Michelangelo to create a sculpture of David.

A symbol of liberation from the Medici.
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The joke was that the marble block used for David was given to another artist over 40 years earlier by the founding father of the Medici Family, Cosimo Medici.
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When completed, the statue of David was placed outside the Palazzo della Signoria (today's Palazzo Vecchio).

The piazza surrounding the building contained numerous statues intended to glorify Florence, but David had the place of honor at the very entrance of the town hall.
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And suddenly the statue became a political statement.

David, guarding the town hall, faced toward Rome, where the Medici resided in exile, his arm ready to cast a stone toward the Medicean Goliath if necessary.
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When the statue was unveiled on September 8, 1504, it was pelted with stones by political protestors who instantly saw the anti-Medici message.
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When the Medici returned to Florence in 1512, they allowed the statue to remain, though they tried to reframe its political rhetoric in more favorable terms.

Florence’s republicans did not forget the anti-Medici message, though.
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In 1527, anti-Medici riots broke out in the city, and the Medici were again exiled as the Republic of Florence was revived from 1527-1530.

During the riot, David’s arm was broken in three places.
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In 1537, by force, Cosimo Medici restored the power of the Medici as the rulers of Florence.

He then commissioned a statue that visualized his finalized victory over political enemies.
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Cosimo sought to soften the republican allegory invested in Judith & Holofernes, Hercules, and Da Vinci's David, and propagate a new vision of Florence under his rule.

He needed a statue not only emblematic of his virtues but also of the first achievements of his reign.
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The sculptor given the job was a musician, writer, painter, self-confessed murderer, and the greatest silver and goldsmith the world has ever seen.

This was Benvenunto Cellini. Born in Florence in 1500, he would prove to be one of Florence’s most colorful sons.
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Cellini's use of bronze for the statue, and the motifs he used to respond to the previous sculptures in the piazza, were highly innovative.
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The statue, it was decided, would be Perseus holding the head of Medusa. Cellini wrote of the difficulty he encountered in casting the piece, which was commissioned by Duke Cosimo d'Medici I as a symbol of his political power:
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"Cellini's Perseus has political meaning, just like the vast majority of the statuary in the piazza. Indeed, it represents the new Grand Duke's desire to break away from experiences of the earlier republic and send a message to the people, which are represented by Medusa."
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Medusa, in Greek mythology, was a terrifying gorgon with snakes for hair, who turned to stone any man that looked at her.

Perseus, depicted with Medusa’s head in his raised hand, defeats the monster, and holds up her head…

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…directly across from Da Vinci’s David and the statue of Hercules, turning them both to stone.

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Just as Perseus slew Medusa, rescued Andromeda from a monster, and brought peace to the people of Ethiopia, Cosimo could be seen as having rescued Florence from partisanship in the previous republican period and pacified the city.
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It’s location in the piazza outside of the Palazzo Vecchio, where Cosimo I moved from the Palazzo Medici, made Perseus a powerful political symbol, coming to embody the new, authoritarian Florentine state that would vanquish any who opposed Cosimo’s rule.
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FOOTNOTES:
You can read about Cellini throwing plates and silverware into the bronze to keep it flowing while casting the statue here:

Conserving Cultural Heritage: Proceedings of the 3rd International Congress, 2017
https://bit.ly/33SWFuW21/ 
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FOOTNOTE:
You can read more about Medici politics here:

Historiography of Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici’s
Cultural Politics and Theories of Cultural Hegemony
and Opposition, Kim
https://bit.ly/313E4uk 
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FOOTNOTE:
Cellini signed his name across Perseus' sash (imitating Michaelangelo) and transformed the back of Perseus' helmet, and his flowing locks, into a brilliant self-portrait.

The hidden self-portrait:
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