MIGNARD, Pierre
(b. 1612, Troyes, d. 1695, Paris)

Perseus and Andromeda

1679
Oil on canvas, 150 x 198 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

Ovid tells how Andromeda, daughter of an Ethiopian king, was chained to a rock by the sea-shore as a sacrifice to a sea-monster. Perseus (the son of Danaë whom Jupiter caused to conceive after turning himself into a shower of golden rain) flying overhead on Pegasus, the winged horse, fell in love at first sight. He swooped down just in time, slew the monster and released Andromeda.

The picture represents the moment following the freeing of Andromeda.