Peinture d'histoire

Henner depicts Andromeda, the heroine of Ovid, naked and chained to a rock, waiting for Perseus, her liberator.

This work, done on the lid of a cigar box whose blue label can be seen through the paint, was most likely one of numerous preparatory sketches for another Andromeda painted in the same year.  It could however be a later variation on the same subject, as Henner was in the habit of reworking his compositions and producing small replicas for art lovers.