Commissioned in bronze by Sir Henry Doulton and first shown at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1882, Perseus Arming is one of Sir Alfred Gilbert's most popular works. It was modelled in 1881 while Gilbert was living and studying in Rome, and received an honourable mention in 1883 at the Salon in Paris. It's evident that certain elements of Perseus Arming were influenced by Gilbert's visit to Florence in 1879, when he encountered the works of Renaissance sculptors Benvenuuto Cellini and Donatello. This had a marked impact on Gilbert, inspiring him to adopt the classical subjects as well as the contrapposto (counterpoise) twist associated with the Italian Renaissance. Gilbert's move abroad was fundamental in developing his artistic language. He travelled and worked in Italy, settling in Rome in 1878, where the Italian Renaissance had a lasting influence on his craft.

However, even at the young age of 25, Gilbert was more interested in the adaptation of sculpture rather than replication. he remarked at the time that although he was amazed by Cellini's masterpiece, Perseus with the Head of Medusa, the work left him 'somewhat cold', as it failed to touch his 'human sympathies.' 'At the time, my whole thoughts were of artistic equipment for the future,' he wrote in 1903. 'I conceived the idea that Perseus before becoming a hero was a mere mortal, and that he had to look at his equipment.' (Joseph Hatton, 1903, p.10)

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