Allegory of the Four Elements with Ceres
1604 | Jan Brueghel d. Ä.
Seated at the centre of the composition is Ceres, the ancient Roman goddess of agriculture and fertility. She is identified by her cornucopia overflowing with ears of corn, vegetables and fruit. Beside her stands a goddess, either Amphitrite or Galatea, as a personification of the sea. On her right sits a female nude giving us her back, perhaps Flora, the goddess of flowers, gardens and spring, who renders homage to Ceres by offering her some grapes. The two flying figures clasping each other represent air and fire.
Seated at the centre of the composition is Ceres, the ancient Roman goddess of agriculture and fertility. She is identified by her cornucopia overflowing with ears of corn, vegetables and fruit. Beside her stands a goddess, either Amphitrite or Galatea, as a personification of the sea. On her right sits a female nude giving us her back, perhaps Flora, the goddess of flowers, gardens and spring, who renders homage to Ceres by offering her some grapes. The two flying figures clasping each other represent air and fire.
Artist:
Jan Brueghel d. Ä. (1568 Brüssel - 1625 Antwerpen) DNB
Time:
1604
Object Name
Painting
Culture
Netherlandish; Flemish
Material/technology:
copper
Dimensions:
41,8 cm × 70,5 cm
Framed (gallery frame): 56,5 cm × 84,5 cm × 7 cm
Signed
Inscribed on the left under the shells: BRVEGHEL 1604
Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie
Invs.
Gemäldegalerie, 815
Provenance
1781 from Pressburg to Vienna
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