The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Tapestry depicting the story of Perseus and Andromeda in muted reds, blues, and browns, all people with light skin tones. On the upper right, Andromeda, a blonde woman, is shackled nude to a rock while ornately dressed people gather in the lower right. A dragon rises out of the sea in front of her, Perseus wearing armor on a white horse and driving a lance into the monster's mouth. Within a castle on the left, Perseus, face and chin-length brown hair now showing, kneels facing the scene on our right, while, behind him, he and Andromeda face each other, grasping the other's hand in marriage.

Story of Perseus and Andromeda

early 1500s

Netherlands, early 16th century

tapestry weave: wool and silk
Overall: 320.5 x 446.8 cm (126 3/16 x 175 7/8 in.)
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1927.487
Location: Not on view

Description

The Greek mythological story of Perseus and Andromeda is represented here as a quest for a maiden, read from right to left in three sections. At the upper right, Andromeda has been chained to a rock by her parents, at the lower right, as a sacrifice to a dragon sent by Poseidon, god of the sea. In the center on a millefleur (floral) ground, Perseus on horseback kills the dreaded dragon. Within the castle at the left, Perseus kneels before an altar, and at the far left, he marries Andromeda.
  • Sir Edgar Speyer [1862–1932], England
    ?–1927
    (P. W. French & Co., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1927–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Milliken, William M. ""Perseus and Andromeda," a Gothic Tapestry in the John Huntington Collection." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 14, no. 3 (March 1927): 34–40. Mentioned and reproduced: 34–40 www.jstor.org
    Siple, Ella S. "A Late Gothic Tapestry at Cleveland." The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 51, no. 293 (August 1927): 99–100. Mentioned: pp. 99–100 www.jstor.org
    "A Gothic Tapestry." The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 51, no. 294 (September 1927): 149–150. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 149–150 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1928. Reproduced: p. 24-25 archive.org
    Gibson, Katharine. The Goldsmith of Florence; A Book of Great Craftsmen. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1929. Reproduced: p. 3
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 186 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 72 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 72 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 82 archive.org
  • Gallery One 2012. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 12, 2012-March 5, 2017).
    The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936).
  • {{cite web|title=Story of Perseus and Andromeda|url=false|author=|year=early 1500s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1927.487