This painting is a scene from William Morris’s poem ‘The Doom of King Acrisius,’ which recounts the story of Perseus (hero and dragon slayer of Greek mythology). The poem is a bit too long to quote the whole thing here but the gist of it is that Perseus saved Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus. Morris writes:⠀
The wind in answer brought loud wails adown.⠀
Then Perseus gently put the maid from him,⠀
Who sank down shivering in her every limb,⠀
Silent despite herself for fear and woe,⠀
As down the beach he ran to meet the foe.
Edward Burne-Jones, The Doom Fulfilled, 1885
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