Perseus Arming
- Artist: Sir Alfred Gilbert
- Date: 1881–3
- Medium: Bronze
- Dimensions: object: 368 x 178 x 121 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
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About this artwork
This is “Perseus Arming” by Sir Alfred Gilbert, a bronze sculpture dated 1881–3. The figure captures Perseus just before the famous slaying of Medusa or rescuing Andromeda – he stands poised, sword and wing in hand, looking over his shoulder to his own equipment. Gilbert himself said: “at that time my whole thoughts were of my artistic equipment for the future [so] I conceived the idea that Perseus, before becoming a hero, was a mere mortal and that he had to look to his equipment.” In other words, the statue is an allegory of his own sculptural ambition.
The piece came into the collection through a bequest by Frederick Harrison in 1936. It first appeared at the “New Sculpture” exhibition in 2009–10, then at Gallery 9 shows from 2012 to 2024, and most recently it has been on display since 2023 as part of the permanent collection.
Gilbert modeled this bronze after his visit to Florence, where he was struck by Cellini’s “wonderful and heroic” statue; that inspiration is visible in the polished wing and the weighty sword. The finished form is slightly smaller than the larger version that earned an Honourable Mention at the 1883 Salon in Paris, but it still carries that same expressive force.
As you stand before it, notice how the bronze’s sheen reflects the gallery lights, giving the mythic hero a luminous quality that mirrors Gilbert’s vision of turning the ordinary tools of a sculptor into heroic apparatus.
See it in person
Perseus Arming is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
