Andromeda in Bondage

I'm an ignorant and simplistic art lover. If you show me a painting of flowers, I will judge the quality of the picture based solely on how closely the blobs and strokes of paint resemble actual flowers. High similarity = high quality. Low similarity = low quality. By even this limited dataset, you could correctly assess that I love the work of photorealist Ralph Goings and that I strongly dislike the cubist movement that Pablo Picasso so famously represents.

I'm simple like that. So sue me.

Because of my limited appreciation of art history, I have to enjoy when there is such a stark comparison of a common theme among a selection of artists that span centuries. Any artist could do anonymous flowers, but how does one interpret something like a Pietà? It is a benchmark of an artist to be able to create his or her own impression on the subject matter (no pun intended, Monet fans).

In a recent post by Gloria Brame, she compares the various selections of art history surrounding the Greek myth of Andromeda being fed to a sea monster. I found it interesting to compare how one image can be reworked and reinterpreted according to a variety of artistic styles, from byzantine to Renaissance to art deco. Wow.

Andromeda in Bondage