Giuseppe Cesari, called Cavaliere d’Arpino

Celebrating the themes of love and heroism, this painting depicts the Greek mythological story of the Ethiopian princess Andromeda. Imprisoned by chains in a threatening landscape, she is rescued by Zeus’s son Perseus, who carries Medusa’s head. In contrast to Andromeda’s stillness, the fantastic setting is animated by Perseus’s flying steed and the roar of a grotesque dragon.

Cavaliere d’Arpino, a principal painter of frescoes in the Vatican, also painted highly finished mythological subjects for wealthy private patrons. This painting was executed on slate, whose hard, smooth surface enhanced the brilliance of the oil pigments and displayed the artist’s fine draftsmanship.