Bacchus, Ceres en Venus

Venus reclines at the center of the composition, flanked by Bacchus, who holds a cluster of grapes, and Ceres, seen from behind holding a cornucopia of fruit. To the left, a winged Cupid looks on while Bacchus raises a glass of wine. The figures are set within a dense, wooded environment, enclosed by a border of Latin verse.

This engraving illustrates the classical aphorism 'Sine Cerere et Baccho friget Venus' (Without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus freezes), a common theme in Renaissance moral philosophy regarding the necessity of food and wine for the survival of love. Hendrick Goltzius used such mythological allegories to explore the relationships between the physical elements and human passions.