Sine Cerere et Baccho friget Venus

Venus sits at the center of a crowded composition, flanked by Bacchus, who holds a heavy cluster of grapes, and Ceres, who carries a sickle and an overflowing cornucopia. The figures are rendered in the elegant, elongated style of Haarlem Mannerism, with Venus appearing languid while Cupid huddles beside her. The scene serves as a moral warning that without the sustenance of food and wine, the fires of love and passion grow cold.

Based on a line from Terence's play 'The Eunuchus,' this motif was a staple of Northern Renaissance art and natural philosophy, exploring the relationship between physical sustenance and the passions of the soul. It reflects the Early Modern interest in the interaction of the bodily humors, suggesting that the 'heat' of Venus requires the 'fuel' provided by the other gods of the earth.