Vertumnus and Pomona
- Catalog
- WD-Q05
- Artist
- Willem Drost
- Year
- c. 1655
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Unknown
- Location
- Unknown
Description
A mythological scene depicting Vertumnus, god of seasons, disguised as an old woman, courting the wood nymph Pomona. A rare mythological subject for Drost.
Analysis
The story of Vertumnus and Pomona (Ovid, Metamorphoses) was one of the most popular mythological subjects in the 17th-century northern Netherlands. Drost's treatment would have been influenced by both Rembrandt's approach to mythological narrative and the Italianate style he encountered in Venice. Current location unknown.
Historical Context
The First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1654) raged during this period, with naval battles at Portland, the Gabbard, and Scheveningen where Admiral Maarten Tromp was killed. The Delft Thunderclap of 1654 devastated the city and killed Carel Fabritius, Rembrandt’s most gifted former pupil. Queen Christina of Sweden abdicated and converted to Catholicism in Rome. Blaise Pascal experienced his conversion to Jansenism. Drost worked independently in Amsterdam, competing in a vibrant art market while Rembrandt began his descent into bankruptcy.