Cassiopeia's Punishment (2026)

Cassiopeia, in Greek mythology, was the queen of Aethiopia and wife of King Cepheus. She was renowned for her exceptional beauty but was also extremely vain and proud (her hubris). Cassiopeia claimed she and her daughter Andromeda were more beautiful than the Nereids, the sea nymph daughters of the god Nereus. Poseidon was angered by this arrogant insult and punished her and her kingdom. Depending on the version of the myth, Poseidon either flooded the land of Aethiopia or sent the sea monster Cetus to ravage the coast. Seeking to appease Poseidon and save their land, Cassiopeia and Cepheus consulted an oracle, which decreed that their daughter Andromeda must be sacrificed to the sea monster. Andromeda was chained to a rock by the sea. She was later saved by Perseus, but the painting depicts Andromeda awaiting her fate on the rock in the sea. 
The painting carries a second meaning as Cassiopeia is also a constellation. In August of last year, near the constellation  was a meteor shower that my ex-partner and I watched and under which we first confessed our love for each other. Cassiopeia’s punishment serves as an expression of both the beauty and ravages of love.

Dimensions: 50x50cm (oil on MDF board)