Perseus and Andromeda, n. d.

This undated oil sketch by Eduard Veith (1858–1925) shows Perseus, son of Zeus, with the king’s daughter Andromeda, who he has saved. After her mother Cassiopeia had placed Andromeda’s beauty above that of the Nereids, Poseidon sent the sea monster Cetus as well as a flood as punishment to the country. According to a prophesy, Andromeda was to be sacrificed to save her homeland. Thus, the daughter of the Ethiopian king was chained to a rock. Perseus saved the beauty, vanquished the monster and took Andromeda to be his wife. While the topic was often rendered as a dramatic fight over a naked captive in Renaissance, Baroque and salon painting, Veith depicted the mythical couple standing and from the front, the defeated monster lying at their feet.

Text Leopold Museum