Andromeda (Andromède)
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Object Label
According to Greek mythology, Andromeda’s mother boasted that her daughter was more beautiful than the attendants of the sea god Poseidon. Enraged, Poseidon had Andromeda chained to a rock, where Perseus, the son of Zeus, saved her before a sea monster could devour her.
This bent, twisted figure appears to convey the fable’s moment of greatest psychological torment, but in fact the sculpture was unnamed when it was first exhibited. This has led some scholars to believe it simply represents a position taken by a model at rest in the studio that inspired Rodin, who only later gave it that title.
Andromeda has not been located anywhere in The Gates of Hell, but her dejected appearance would have been highly appropriate there.
Caption
Auguste Rodin French, 1840–1917. Andromeda (Andromède), 1887; cast 1979. Bronze, 10 1/2 × 12 3/4 × 8 in., 20.5 lb. (26.7 × 32.4 × 20.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Iris and B. Gerald Cantor, 84.77.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 84.77.1_bw_SL3.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Andromeda (Andromède)
Date
1887; cast 1979
Geography
Place made: France
Medium
Bronze
Classification
Dimensions
10 1/2 × 12 3/4 × 8 in., 20.5 lb. (26.7 × 32.4 × 20.3 cm)
Signatures
Base, side with face: "A. Rodin" Interior of rocky base, applied as raised stamp: "A. Rodin"
Inscriptions
Base, side with face: "No 10"
Markings
Lower edge of rocky base, side without face: ".Georges Rudier./.Fondeur. Paris." Lower edge of side with buttocks: " © by Musée Rodin 1979."
Credit Line
Gift of Iris and B. Gerald Cantor
Accession Number
84.77.1
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
Tell me more.
A marble version of this sculpture, Andromeda, was exhibited at the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago! The marble sculpture was removed from the exhibit hall within a week, as it was deemed too risqué by the organizing committee.Andromeda is a figure from Greek mythology who was chained to a rock by Poseidon, and then rescued by Perseus so she wouldn't be eaten by a sea monster.
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