'Without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus would Freeze' (Sine Cerere et Libero Figet Venus)

Venus sits partially nude with Cupid in her lap, who holds a flaming torch that illuminates the group. Behind them, a satyr-like Bacchus offers a cluster of grapes while Ceres holds a bounty of harvested fruits. The scene uses dramatic lighting and soft, elongated forms to represent the dependency of passion on physical sustenance.

Based on a line from Terence’s play 'Eunuchus', this allegory was a popular theme in Renaissance humanism and Neoplatonism, exploring the relationship between the base physical appetites and the higher flames of desire. It reflects the late Mannerist interest in moralizing classical mythology within the sophisticated intellectual circles of Haarlem and the court of Rudolf II.