Summer

This 1623 allegorical depiction of Summer belongs to the Four Seasons tradition, a subject that allowed Jordaens to combine mythological imagery with the abundant naturalism that characterized his approach. Summer was typically personified through harvest imagery and warm, golden light. Jordaens, who outlived both Rubens and Van Dyck to become the dominant figure in Flemish Baroque painting for the second half of the seventeenth century, was particularly celebrated for his exuberant genre subjects, especially his series on the Flemish proverb about the King of the Bean.

The painting demonstrates Jordaens' robust treatment of allegorical subjects, with warm, sun-drenched color and full-bodied figures embodying the season's abundance and vitality.