The Mocking of Latona, 1601

About the Work

The artist – also known as ‘Flower Brueghel’ or ‘Paradise Brueghel’ for his meticulous depiction of flora and fauna – painted this scene soon after his return from Italy. His subject is an episode from Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’: Latona, Jupiter’s mistress, is prevented from slaking her thirst by some peasants who are cutting reeds in a pool. She curses the peasants, who at once turn into frogs. Jan Brueghel the Elder was endowed with the skill to portray the figures and their transformation just as vividly as the shady woodland lake and the view of the landscape in the distance.