Marble bust of Medusa in the Baroque style of the 17th century by the Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) between 1638 and 1648. According to Ovid, Medusa, the most beautiful and deadly of the three Gorgon sisters, had the power to turn to stone anyone who looked directly at her. Here Bernini has created the moment of horror and anguish when she sees her beautiful hair turning into writhing snakes in her reflection in an imaginary mirror.