Andromeda (1629) – Rembrandt
Rembrandt’s is one of the uglier interpretations of the Andromeda myth, especially when compared by the following by Chassériau and Doré.
Andromeda and the Nereids (1840) – Théodore Chassériau
Paul Gustave Doré (1832-1883) painted Andromeda exposed to the sea-monster. (1869?)
Perseus Frees Andromeda (c. 1515) – Piero di Cosimo (1462 – 1521)
Yep…Rembrandt’s Andromeda is posed unfortunately, but at least is more naturalistic than the Dore or Chasseriau versions, which are 19th Cenury versions of self-conscious fashion shots. Curious how Dore chooses to gloss the basic awkwardness and utilitarianism of the female foot. His Andromede has ridiculously tiny feet, which would probably not be able to adequately support her rather heavy and muscular thighs or implied bodily bulk. The Chasseriau is rather yech! to me.
Thanks for posting these – interesting to compare them !
Hi Suburban,
Glad you liked them, here are quite a few more. Théodore Chassériau is an illustration of the comic-book qualities and pre-Tamara de Lempicka art decoishness of academic art.
Jan
Jan… thanks for providing that link. My favourite ugly example of the lot is the Ingres ones, which are particularly unfortunate, in my opinion. Thank God that this theme is no longer favoured by painters, but kind of makes me wonder how Lucien Freud or Jerome Witkin might deal with it. Or maybe even R B Kitaj.
Gabriella