Vertumnus and Pomona

Maes's Vertumnus and Pomona from 1673 is one of his rare mythological subjects, depicting the Roman god of seasons who disguised himself as an old woman to court the nymph Pomona, goddess of fruit trees. The subject from Ovid's Metamorphoses provided an opportunity for elegant figure painting with the erotic subtext of courtship disguise, appealing to Amsterdam collectors who wanted classical content in the fashionable manner of Flemish history painting. By 1673 Maes had fully adopted the Flemish grand manner in place of his earlier Rembrandtesque intimacy, and this mythological painting demonstrates his mastery of the more polished, internationally oriented style that made him the leading fashionable painter of Amsterdam in the 1670s. The garden setting and the figures' elegant postures reflect the influence of Rubens's mythological tradition filtered through Amsterdam's prosperous patron class.

The mythological scene is rendered with the elegant, refined technique of Maes's mature period, replacing the Rembrandtesque darkness of his early work with a lighter, more decorative palette suited to the classical subject.