Perseus Freeing Andromeda Perseus Freeing Andromeda Perseus Freeing Andromeda is a painting by the Italian Renaissance painter Piero di Cosimo, c. executed in 1510 or 1513. It is housed in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence, Italy. The painting is mentioned in 1568 by Giorgio Vasari, who states that it was commissioned by Filippo Strozzi the Elder, and gifted by Giovanni Battista Strozzi to a member of Cosimo I de' Medici's personnel. The work shows the mythological hero Perseus killing the monster who had entrapped Andromeda. Piero focused on attention to detail in the background, perhaps inspired by the contemporary Flemish school. Details include
Perseus and Andromeda (Titian) killing of the gorgon Medusa, kills the monster and rescues Andromeda, whom he then marries. Titian follows Ovid fairly closely, although it is likely that his Latin was poor, and he mainly relied on somewhat simplified versions in Italian, of which there was a choice. This may explain some of the differences to the Latin original, although Titian may well just have interpreted the story freely. In Ovid Andromeda's parents are nearby; here they are probably on the shore opposite, by a city. Andromeda stands amid seashells and coral. Coral is mentioned by Ovid, but as being formed from Medusa's