andromeda
Mythical Andromeda, unaware that Perseus will eventually rescue her, is often portrayed in great distress, dreading the moment the sea monster Kraken will reveal itself and devour her. In paintings and sculpture by artists such as Rembrandt (Maurithuis, Netherlands), Titian (Wallace Collection, London), and Domenico Guidi (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), Andromeda is shown in frenzied motion, actively pulling in vain against her chains. In contrast, French’s Andromeda appears to doze serenely, basking in the sun. She does not pull or strain at the manacles that bind her to the rock; in fact, the viewer might not realize she is restrained until closer examination reveals shackles at her wrists. In an interview towards the end of his life, French stated, “I still believe that the beauty of woman is beauty at its best and highest.”[1] Andromeda is indeed beautiful and decorative, not hysterical or panicked. French practices great restraint and steers clear of the overly emotional.
French employed a young Stockbridge resident, Ethel Cummings, to pose as Andromeda, although her identity as the model for the work was not revealed until much later. Sculpted in the last two years of the artist’s life, from 1929-31, Andromeda was French’s final work and the marble is considered incomplete. Numerous studies for Andromeda are in Chesterwood’s collection, including the full-size plaster model that was sent to the Piccirilli brothers’ marble carving studio in New York. The model still retains pencil markings used to transfer the design from plaster into marble.
As scheduling and weather permit, Chesterwood occasionally exhibits French's Andromeda outside the Studio. The marble sculpture is wheeled out on the ingenious customized railroad track system that French had built to enable him to sculpt outdoors and to observe the effects of natural light. French utilized the railroad track for gauging effects of perspective and sunlight on such public monuments as the George Washington equestrian (Paris), Spirit of Life for the Spencer Trask Memorial (Saratoga Springs, NY), and America for the US Custom House (New York, NY).
[1] “At 80 Starts His Masterpiece,” New York Sun, April 21, 1930.