Minerva in profile, scaled aegis and Medusa at her shoulder

Minerva turns in profile against a sky of radiating blue and gold rays and a bank of white cloud, a gold band in her chestnut hair, her mouth firm. Over her shoulder lies the aegis — a cape of overlapping green scales edged with coiling grey serpents, the small horned Medusa head set at its centre — and behind it falls a heavy cloak of coral red and slate blue. The gilt shaft of her spear crosses the lower left corner. Vedder designed the figure in 1896 for the mosaic Minerva of Peace that still presides over the entrance stair of the Library of Congress.

Elihu Vedder (1836–1923) was an American painter who settled in Rome and stayed for half a century, producing sphinxes, sibyls and cosmic allegories at a time when his countrymen were painting landscapes. His illustrations to the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám were a publishing sensation in 1884, and his murals still line the Library of Congress.

Printed as a museum-grade giclée on Hahnemühle fine art paper using 12-ink archival pigment printing. Available handframed in FSC-certified wood with optional float glass, or unframed. Ships worldwide with free delivery to 30+ countries.