Perseus and Andromeda
This is an oil painting from around 1958; it was my "final" painting for the Famous Artists fine arts course, and I got an A-. I have touched it up a tad here; in the original, Perseus' winged sandals were rather on the small side, and while Andromeda's face was never seen, I've at least let her hair blow a little bit in the wind. The instructor's comments included a note that he didn't feel he could offer any criticism on the dragon, since he'd never seen one. I appreciated his point. In Harry Harryhausen's rendition of the myth, in which he substituted Pegasus (Chimaera-killer Bellerophon's steed) for Hermes' winged sandals, he made the beast a Titan of sea-monsterish aspect. My copy of The Oxford Classical Dictionary only refers to the creature as a sea monster; so does Bullfinch. My copy of the Encyclopedia Americana relates the story to others of heroes rescuing maidens from dragons, including St. George. Hey, why not make it a dragon!
