Sheet 1 from a series for the worship of Ceres, Venus and Bacchus: Cult of Ceres

Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, stands on the right side of the frame crowned with stalks of wheat and cradling a horn of plenty filled with the harvest. To the left, three peasants kneel in various poses of devotion, one holding a shovel and removing his hat in respect. In the background, the goddess's chariot pulled by dragons flies through the clouds above a sun rising over fields where other farmers are hard at work.

This work belongs to a series illustrating the proverb 'Sine Cerere et Baccho friget Venus' (Without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus freezes), a common theme in Renaissance thought emphasizing that physical love requires the sustenance of food and wine. It reflects the era's interest in the Classical Mysteries and the Neoplatonic interpretation of ancient deities as personifications of natural forces and the soul's nourishment.