''Perseus Freeing Andromeda'' or ''Liberation of Andromeda'' is a painting created by Piero di Cosimo, during the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

. The painting was praised by critics and art historians for its aesthetic, cosmological and political implications. The painting is a recreation of the myth of

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of ...

, the demi-god, who slays the sea monster and saves the beautiful Andromeda. The painting is based on a story created by the ancient Roman writer

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

, in the ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

''. The themes of the painting include

platonic love Platonic love is a type of love in which sexual desire or romantic features are nonexistent or have been suppressed or sublimated, but it means more than simple friendship. The term is derived from the name of Greek philosopher Plato, tho ...

, ideal beauty, marriage, and natural beauty. The painting includes portraits of the Medici family and many of Florentine's elite upper ruling class as characters in the story of Perseus Freeing Andromeda. The painting also represents a paragone between painting and sculpture. The painting resides in the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Mythological source

The story behind this painting is that of the demi-god,

, and Andromeda. Perseus was prophesied to kill Acrisus, King of Argos. Because of this prediction, Acrisus sends Danae, mother of Perseus, to be imprisoned, to keep her a virgin. However,

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

appears before her, in prison and impregnates her with Perseus, who is born a demi-god, with his mother being human and father being a God, Jupiter. After Perseus is born he is imprisoned in a box with his mother and thrown into the ocean. They stay in the box for 19 days, eventually they are rescued by fishermen, both are alive. Perseus is raised on a nearby island and knows nothing about his past, one day the king of the island hosts a feast, during this feast Perseus insults him and the king tells him that if he wishes to stay alive he must bring him the head of the Medusa. After Perseus kills Medusa, on his way back home he spots Andromeda and her mother tied to a rock, and he flies down and slays the sea monster, rescuing Andromeda. Perseus eventually marries Andromeda The painting is based on a story in the

, written by the ancient Roman writer,

Iconography

Andromeda is seen as the ideal sculptural beauty. She is sometimes rendered as statue-like in paintings representing this myth. The painting of Andromeda on the side of the mountain about to be consumed by the sea monster, represents ideal beauty. Andromeda seems so still and beautiful that she appeared to be a sculpture, until her hair moves from the wind. Then Perseus realizes she is actually a real person. The symbolism of Perseus freeing Andromeda is also a representation of platonic love in contrast to Phineus who is turned to stone because of his lust for Andromeda. Medusa additionally represents voluptuousness and temptations.

Theme

One of the themes of the painting relates to marriage. The painting of ''Perseus Freeing Andromeda'' demonstrates that love triumphs over all things; because of Perseus's love for Andromeda. It even triumphs over monsters and human rivals. ''Perseus Freeing Andromeda'' also alludes to marriage, because the demi-god asks for Andromeda's hand in marriage. The scene of when Perseus lends his hands to be held by Andromeda, represents tactile sensuality and naturalistic beauty. The story of Perseus freeing Andromeda is a story of nature and the ideal beauty of sculpture since artists later compared the relationship between natural beauty and the ideal beauty of sculpture. The sculptures of ''Perseus Freeing Andromeda'' shows the perfection of the sculptural medium and the life likeness of paintings. The paragone of sculpture and painting during the Renaissance is evident in the painting, ''Perseus Freeing Andromeda''. There are two sides to the paragone argument; painters say painting is more powerful because it uses lots of color and is able to show the lucid quality of drapery, something that a sculpture cannot. The other side to the argument is that of the sculptors. Sculptors say that paintings can not show the subject from all 360 degrees like a sculpture can be. This comparison, between painting and sculpture, was a step towards the modern system of fine arts. It was an argument of what was the better system for arriving at the goal of all art, which is imitation of the natural world, of which God was the greatest creator. When Perseus first sees Andromeda, bound by ropes and about to be eaten by the sea monster, destined to be her destroyer, Perseus thought she was a statue. Only the fact that her hair was moved by the breeze of the wind, did he realize she was not just a sculpture but a real person, and he immediately fell in love with her. This shows how sculpture can be considered the perfect art form.

Historical context

The painting has been praised by art historians and art critics because it possesses aesthetics, cosmological and political implications. It also accurately depicts the classical stories by focusing on the theme of beauty. In terms of political characteristics, the painting contains many contemporary dignitaries such as Filippo Strozzi the Younger and

Lorenzo de' Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (; 1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492), was an Italian statesman, the ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Lore ...

, future Duke of Urbino. Strozzi is depicted as the man with a white turban on the right hand corner of the painting. He is supposed to be Ceppheus. Lorenzo de' Medici's portrait is supposed to be Perseus. Piero di Cosimo signs the painting by putting himself in it as the elderly man facing the viewer. The depiction of the sea monster, in the painting, is an allusion to the return of the Medici household to power in Florence.

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...

praised the painting for its beautiful use of color and for the depiction of an original sea monster in a way that no one in the past has done.

Current location

The painting is currently displayed in The Galleria Degli Uffizi, in Florence. In the Uffizi gallery, The painting is placed in an area that recounts the Renaissance time of debate about the strengths of painting verses sculpture. In this Gallery there are many sculptures and the placement of Perseus Freeing Andromeda adds to the argument of whether painting is a more powerful art form than sculpture.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Paintings by Piero di Cosimo 1510s paintings Paintings of Andromeda Musical instruments in art Paintings in the Uffizi Paintings based on Metamorphoses Black people in art