Athena1.0036

Benvenuto Cellini, 1500-1571, "Minerva", 1546-1553, bronze statuette, made for the right niche in the base of the base of Cellini's own "Perseus with the Head of Medusa", Florence, Loggia dei Lanzi but now displayed in the Museo Nazionale—Bargello.
The image at right is of the replica; note the sculpted hand of the decapitated Medusa intrudes upon the frame from above.

Athena, whose endorsing protection for the hero is classically woven into the Perseus myth, belongs rightly to this sculpture (the other three niches in the base depict Zeus, Danaë, and Hermes). Most remarkable about Cellini's conception of the virginal goddess here is his depicting her as a classical nude. The move is unprecedented for Athena in classical (ancient) art; many artists over ensuing decades followed Cellini's lead — e.g. Lavinia Fontana, Hendrik Goltzius, or Bartholomäus Spranger — and showed Athena/Minerva wearing little or no clothing. Cellini started a trend.