Perseus frees Andromeda

The Roman poet Ovid popularised the myth of Perseus and Andromeda in the Metamorphoses. Tied to a rock, Andromeda, the daughter of the Ethiopian king Cepheus, is to be sacrificed to a sea monster. This punishment was ordered by Poseidon in retribution for the boastful utterances of the king’s wife, Cassiopeia, who bragged that she and her daughter were more beautiful than the Nereids. Perseus, who was travelling home on the winged horse Pegasus after having defeated and killed the dreaded gorgon Medusa, spotted the princess tied to a rocky cliff. Overwhelmed by her beauty, he stopped and approached her.
With these words, Ovid describes the encounter of Perseus and Andromeda, which is followed by the battle between the hero and the menacing monster. In contrast, Rubens – whose narrative skill has been compared with that master of storytelling, Homer – combines the encounter with the liberation scene. On the left side of the painting the slain sea monster floats in the breakers. Clad in a deep-red mantle, Perseus releases Andromeda from her bonds. Two cherubs assist him, while a further three gambol around Pegasus, one helping another up onto the horse’s back, while the third holds the bridle. This all takes place on a rocky ledge angled slightly away from the viewer, and is depicted from left to right in chronological order, climaxing in the interdependent postures of the two main protagonists. The dynamic movement of the hero and the internalised devotion of the female figure, delicately modelled in bright light, depict the spark of new love which culminates in the liberation of the bound maiden, as is described in Ovid’s verses. Rubens, who was never averse to adding quotations from classical antiquity to underscore the message of the painting, based the figure of Andromeda and the cherub next to her on the statue Venus Felix (Rome, Vatican Collections). The artist is likely to have seen this statue during his stay in Rome, but another source of inspiration may also have been a sketch of the Roman statue of Venus by Hendrick Goltzius. Rubens painted the myth of Andromeda several times, each with a slightly different interpretation. These include a late work, also in the Berlin Gallery, and a practically identical version in Saint Petersburg (Hermitage), which was completed immediately before this picture. In the Saint Petersburg painting, the figure of Perseus, holding the terrifying shield of the Medusa, stands at the centre of the busy composition with its many figures. The dead sea monster at his feet, the cherubs holding Pegasus by his bridle and Andromeda being untied by other cherubs, are arranged concentrically around him as attributes of his heroism. Fama, who places a crown on his head, elevates him to the status of a glorious victor. This version of the subject matter contains allegorical and political symbolism, which is lacking in the Berlin painting. Jan Kelch | 200 Masterpieces of European Painting - Gemäldegalerie Berlin, 2019