''Perseus Freeing Andromeda'' is a painting by the Flemish artist

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

, dated to 1620, with some sources claiming 1622. It is now in the Gemäldegalerie,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany. Prior to 1755, the painting belonged to a Monsieur Pasquier, as part of his collection in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, France. The painting was auctioned in 1755 in Paris. In the 18th century it entered the collection of

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself '' King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prus ...

and, in 1830, it became part of the collection of the Berlin museums. The scene is similar to another painting by Rubens, '' Perseus and Andromeda'', now in the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. It depicts the

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

hero

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 ...

in the act of freeing Andromeda, after defeating the sea monster which kept her prisoner. Perseus, wearing helmet, cuirass, and cloak, is sided by two puttoes, and one of them is helping him in removing the ropes that tie Andromeda to the rock. On the left, two puttoes are playing with

Pegasus Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...

, Perseus’ winged horse.

Gallery

File:LAMBERT SUSTRIS in comparison with PETER PAUL RUBENS.png, ''Earlier painting by Lambert Sustris may have served as inspiration for this painting''

References

Sources

* 1620 paintings Mythological paintings by Peter Paul Rubens Paintings of Andromeda Nude paintings of women Paintings in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin Paintings of children Horses in art Angels in art Water in art {{1620s-painting-stub