Carracci has created a moment of suspense in his engraving of princess Andromeda as a terrifying sea monster approaches her. Andromeda was the daughter of Cassiope and Cepheus, king of the Ethiopians. Cassiope boasted that Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereids, the sea nymphs, which understandably made them angry.
Complaining to sea god Poseidon, he flooded the land of Cepheus’s kingdom as punishment, unleashing a sea monster there. The citizens of the kingdom forced the king to sacrifice Andromeda to the sea monster which would spare the city of such punishment.
Eventually surrendering to their wishes, Andromeda was chained to a sea cliff where the monster would take his prey. It was there that hero Perseus saw Andromeda and fell in love with her, killing the sea monster and making the beautiful princess his bride.
