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Notes

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The central female nude, embracing a cornucopia of fruit and vegetables, is Pomona, goddess of gardens and orchards, and protector of the ripening harvest. Silenus, the follower of Bacchus, paid court to her with Pan and a retinue of Satyrs, who can be seen in the background and to the right and left of the central female figures and children. The popularity of this and other allegories of Abundance in the works of Rubens and his followers, can be linked to a wish to celebrate the virtues of peace, in particular the Twelve-Year Truce enjoyed by the Northern and Southern Netherlands, 1609–1621, during the reign of the Archdukes Albert and Isabella. The present work is one of several versions of the subject, produced by Jordaens and his workshop during the 1620s, when fears regarding the end of the Truce and the resumption of hostilities were at their height.

The Wallace Collection

London

Title

An Allegory of Fruitfulness

Date

1620–1629

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 200.7 x W 229 cm

Accession number

P120

Acquisition method

acquired by Sir Richard Wallace, 1872; bequeathed to the nation by Lady Wallace, 1897

Work type

Painting

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The Wallace Collection

Hertford House, Manchester Square, London, Greater London W1U 3BN England

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