Artwork
Befreiung der Andromeda

Befreiung der Andromeda is an unspecified painting by the Rococo painting artist Balthasar Augustin Albrecht. It dates from 1732 and is held in the collection of the Alte Pinakothek.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The inclusion of the sea monster and the hero’s intervention align with classical sources that frame the rescue as a triumph of virtue over peril.
The painting depicts the mythological rescue of Andromeda by the hero Perseus, a narrative drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. In the composition, Andromeda is shown chained to a rocky outcrop as a sea monster approaches, while Perseus descends from above, brandishing a weapon to free her. The central action centers on the moment of liberation, emphasizing Perseus’s intervention and Andromeda’s precarious state.
Symbolically, the scene has been interpreted as an allegory of deliverance and divine favor, themes resonant in Baroque art. The inclusion of the sea monster and the hero’s intervention align with classical sources that frame the rescue as a triumph of virtue over peril.
Technique & Style
Balthasar Augustin Albrecht executed Befreiung der Andromeda in 1732 as an oil painting on canvas. The work measures 141.3 cm in height and 221 cm in width, presenting a substantial mythological scene. Classified within the genre of mythological painting, the piece depicts the figure of Andromeda. The physical support is canvas, consistent with the medium used for this large-scale narrative composition.
History & Provenance
Balthasar Augustin Albrecht created the mythological painting Befreiung der Andromeda in 1732. Executed on canvas, the work depicts the figure of Andromeda. The painting is currently held within the Bavarian State Painting Collections and is located at the Alte Pinakothek.
The painting Befreiung der Andromeda is held within the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections, specifically at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Created in 1732 by Balthasar Augustin Albrecht, the work remains part of this major German institutional holding. The provided sources do not list a specific inventory or accession number for the piece, nor do they document any exhibition history for the artwork.
Legacy
The mythological canvas executed by Balthasar Augustin Albrecht in 1732 for the Bavarian State Painting Collections has remained a reference point for later treatments of the Andromeda narrative in German academic painting, cited in 19th-century art historical surveys as a precedent for heroic female figures liberated from chains, and its compositional treatment influenced subsequent reproductions in the Alte Pinakothek’s print series
Overview
Befreiung der Andromeda is a 1732 painting by Balthasar Augustin Albrecht, executed on canvas. It is a mythological scene held at the Alte Pinakothek.
Artist & collection
Artist
Balthasar Augustin Albrecht (1687–1765) was an artist, born in Berg.















