Pisces

Pisces — the last sign of the zodiac, associated with late winter, water, and a complex dual nature — rounds out Jordaens's 1640 Luxembourg Palace zodiac series. The fish, Pisces's emblem, offered Flemish painters skilled in the tradition of fish market scenes and maritime still life a chance to display zoological expertise within an allegorical frame. The dual fish swimming in opposite directions embodied the sign's legendary indecisiveness, a character flaw recognised in astrological tradition as both gift and limitation. Jordaens brings to this series the same robustness and physical warmth he applies to all his allegorical work, refusing the cold abstraction of academic allegory in favour of tangible, sensory presence.

The Pisces composition required incorporating the zodiac's aquatic symbolism — fish, water, perhaps Neptune or a river god — with a figure allegory that made the sign's character visible. Jordaens handles the fish with the zoological specificity of a market painter, each scale and fin precisely described, while situating them within a broader allegorical arrangement. The blue-grey palette suited to marine and winter imagery contrasts with the warm golds of Virgo and Cancer.