Flemish and Dutch painting

Recognised for his talent at an early age in Rubens’ workshop, the young Antoon van Dyck was confined to the portrait genre by his master, who feared the appearance of a rival. However Van Dyck’s life-long dream was to try to paint history, which is what he does here with a mythological subject where he assumes a dramatic viewpoint.
In the past, this painting was the property of Amalia van Solms, whose portrait is hung nearby.