Perseus and Andromeda Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)

Description of Peter Rubens’ painting Perseus and Andromeda

One of the certainly striking masterpieces that is still relevant today is, of course, the work of one of the greatest artists, Peter Paul Rubens, a painter-painter originally from Holland, Perseus and Andromeda.

Indeed, it doesn’t even take long to gaze into this painting as you immediately sense the deep dynamics of this story, which takes its origins from the ancient myths of Greece. The stories of the Greek gods, the great exploits of the heroes and so on, have captivated Rubens’ attention all his life, a consequence of which we can observe such beautiful masterpieces.

However, it must be said that Rubens interpreted each story and myth in his own way. As, for example, in this picture we see how the heroic human qualities overcome the dark forces. Naturally in the center of the picture stands the main character, Perseus, in a life-affirming way.

Above him hovers the goddess of Glory, as should be the case with all valiant heroes. A rather reverent moment is the gentle touch of Perseus to Andromeda, the picture at that moment seems to come alive, and you become an involuntary witness to it all.

Quite interesting is the fact that Rubens depicted Andromeda, oddly enough, not as a perfect beauty of ancient times, but as a girl with rather pudgy forms and red hair. Almost everything in this picture just screams and praises, strength, health, power and beauty. Take, for example, the mighty pegasus horse, which seems not yet panted after the battle and greedily gulps and exhales air.

In this work one cannot help but marvel at the flawless, perfect and masterful play with the blues, reds and oranges. The craftsmanship in the painting of the nude body, is beyond praise.

The human body has such realistic coloring that with the right lighting, all the characters in the painting come to life and are set in motion in an instant.