Neptunus geeft de riviergoden opdracht een zondvloed te veroorzaken. NL-HlmNHA 1477 53011141

The sea god Neptune stands on the right, brandishing his trident while gesturing to a group of river gods and nymphs to release their waters. These figures tip large ceramic jars to flood the landscape, while the winged messenger Iris appears in the clouds above to release heavy rain. The scene is rendered with the rhythmic, swelling line work and muscular anatomy characteristic of the Haarlem Mannerist style.

This image reflects the Renaissance fascination with Ovid's Metamorphoses, which humanists and natural philosophers interpreted as an allegorical history of the elements and the world's cycles. In the esoteric tradition, the deluge was often seen as a macrocosmic 'dissolution' or cleansing of the earth, mirroring the chemical processes of the Great Work.