This is the closest Rubens comes to a ‘World Landscape’, a type of landscape developed by Pieter Breughel the Elder (c.1525–69) which conveyed the extraordinary range of the earth’s surface in one scene. Rubens adopts a bird-like viewpoint, maintaining its height into the far distance, and providing a comprehensive account of every terrain and every species of agricultural activity. He describes humankind’s relationship to nature and God’s blessing – suggested by the church spires in the background and the light breaking through the clouds.

Acquired as a pair with Winter, by Frederick, Prince of Wales, in 1747