Study for ‘Perseus and Andromeda’
This is the original study for the final painting by Lord Leighton in 1891, which is in the collection in the Walker Art Gallery of the National Museums Liverpool (below). It shows the mythological story of Andromeda, daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia. When Cassiopeia boasts that she is more beautiful than the Nereids (sea nymphs), Poseidon (the god of the sea) sends the sea monster Cetus to ravage the coast of Aethiopia as divine punishment. Queen Cassiopeia understands that chaining Andromeda to a rock as a sacrifice is what will appease Poseidon. Perseus finds her as he is coming back from his quest to decapitate Medusa and brings her back to Greece to marry her and let her reign as his queen. With the head of Medusa, he turns Cetus to stone to stop it from terrorising the coast any longer.
The painting was purchased by Merton from the artist at his studio home (now the Leighton House Museum) around 1892.
