Perseus en Andromeda 1622

Curator: Gerard ter Borch the Elder's 1622 drawing, "Perseus en Andromeda," offers a striking take on this classic myth, currently residing here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: My first impression is just... vulnerability. Andromeda's posture, her averted gaze; there’s a real tenderness to her captivity, strangely compelling, before the action even unfolds. The sea monsters have charm too. Curator: The use of ink and paper lends it this ephemeral quality, doesn't it? It's not just a narrative of heroism, but it is this intense study of form through line. Borch masterfully uses ink washes to create depth, almost like a sculpture carved out of light. The drama and the skill—it’s undeniably baroque. Editor: Indeed. The visible labor here—each careful stroke, each applied wash—hints at the drawing’s function. Was it a preliminary sketch, maybe for a grander, more commodifiable oil painting that would cement Ter Borch's social capital? Curator: Perhaps, or a labour of love? See how the nudes are rendered: no dramatic shading; we feel Perseus's power not from bravado, but the delicacy and confidence that it takes to make that line a body. There is so little showing on the page—and such abundance to imagine within it. Editor: Right. And consider the materiality of myth itself—stories retold, reshaped by each hand, each telling becoming a sort of cultural “material,” reflecting contemporary anxieties or desires around power, gender, beauty standards... you see the seashells? Those are real and available material! The allover composition reminds me how beauty comes from simple places. Curator: The beauty isn’t simple here, for me—the scene isn’t about victory; it’s a tableau of transition, this fragile instant where bravery and fear converge. Borch offers, not spectacle, but almost private observation, leaving open all sorts of other possibilities. Editor: I find the perspective rewarding. Every artifact embeds the labor and hands, and also the economics. And still art, with the power to stir our imaginations, exists today. Curator: I agree that we should look to the everyday! And with "Perseus en Andromeda" the drawing makes for me its own intimate story of our connection to the materials, the methods and our long histories with this beautiful myth.