Perseus and Andromeda
Giambattista Tiepolo
GIAMBATTISTA TIEPOLO, c.1730. OIL ON CANVAS.
The love between Perseus and Andromeda was told first in myths, second in stars and then concluded, some two millennia later, by Tiepolo’s soaring testament. In the original myth, on a rock in the sea Andromeda is shackled and guarded by the sea monster Cetus, a blood sacrifice to Poseidon. Perseus flies in with winged sandals, beheads the monster with his harp and frees Andromeda in a blaze of passion that turned to marital love. Ptolemy granted their union eternity in his original 48 constellations, ensuring that their marriage would last forever in the stars above us. Yet Tiepolo deviates from the original myth; Perseus rides in on Pegasus, Jupiter awaits them above and cupids dance around them. Almost all the figures in the top half of this work were to become deified in the constellations. His interpretation of the story focuses on glory, beauty, and kinship – two lovers sanctioned by god ride off on a white steed.