The scene shown here is taken from an episode in the sixteenth-century epic poem Orlando Furioso, by Ludovico Ariosto. The Christian knight Ruggiero has discovered the pagan princess Angelica, who has been abducted by barbarians. Stripped and chained to a rock, she has been left as a sacrifice to a sea monster. Riding a hippogriff – a legendary half-horse, half-griffin beast that can both gallop and fly – Ruggiero saves Angelica by plunging his lance into the monster’s open jaws.
Ingres had previously painted a larger version of this story in 1819 for the Throne Room at the Palace of Versailles. In this smaller version, he emphasises the drama by reducing the seascape setting and placing the monster between Ruggiero and Angelica. He highlights the danger Angelica faces by contrasting her smooth, pale body with the hard armour and rocks and the sharp lance, griffin’s beak and talons, and the monster’s teeth.
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Martin Davies, with additions and some revisions by Cecil Gould, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: French School: Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, etc.’, London 1970; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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