The imagery in this painting belongs to Manina's mature Venetian language, in which mythological bodies, hybrid creatures, eyes and labyrinthine patterning became vehicles for alchemical and Jungian ideas. Manina developed an intricately patterned, semi-figurative language populated by eyes, masks, serpents, eggs, shells, radiant suns, trees of life and hybrid bird-human beings. Her imagery drew upon alchemy, the Kabbalah, the I Ching, Jungian ideas and the chimeric art and architecture of Venice. Following her daughter's violent death in 1960, the work became increasingly introspective and concerned with spiritual transformation. Medusa spirituale with its mask-like face, staring eyes, serpentine forms and densely worked monochromatic surface, is an excellent example of her work from this period.