Engraving of Andromeda chained to the rock, in its first state, after a drawing by Hendrick Goltzius. The nude figure of Andromeda was a popular subject with Renaissance artists, including Goltzius who had made two prints with the subject before. This larger version places the onlookers surrounding the nude centre stage and delegates the monster and Perseus to the back. The figures in the group are drawn with particular elements beloved with Mannerists such as Goltzius: dramatic poses, heavy foreshortening and detailed muscles.
Goltzius' original drawing for the print, now in the Royal Collection, contains sharp incisions that were made during the transfer of the design to the copper plate. The subsequent engraving was done by Jacob Matham, Goltzius' step-son.
With the sheet trimmed directly to the borde3r of the image. Several foldings in the center, resulting in a tear of ca. 3 cm at the bottom. A few small tears along the edges, very small parts of the bottom left and right corners are missing, as well as a larger part (about 1.5 x 1.5 cm) of the upper left corner. Lightly soiled and with a few spots; a fair copy. Filedt Kok, "Hendrick Goltzius - Engraver, Designer and Publisher 1582-1600" in: Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 42/43, p. 216 no. 147; New Hollstein, Jacob Matham II, p. 98 no. 189.