16. Attributed to Hendrick van Balen the Elder (Antwerp 1575-1632) The Feast of the Gods oil on copper oil on copper 30.5 x 39cm (12 x 15 3/8in). The iconography of the banquet of the gods represents the symbol of a happy life in abundance and peace. It depicts ancient divinities seated at a richly garnished feasting table, and is referred to by Homer in the Illiad. This mythological theme was taken up again during the Renaissance, particularly in Nordic Mannerism, where it developed more in the Southern Netherlands, or Flanders. Van Balen often treated it, in collaboration with his friend Brueghel the Elder or de Velours for the treatment of landscapes. The composition of the present painting shows four male figures seated around a sumptuous banquet of bread, cake and sliced melon. Above them, three putti fly around, carrying bouquets, while all around, nymphs, goddesses and cherubs in gleaming forms bring them trays and baskets abundantly filled with culinary delicacies of all kinds: various fruits (cherries, figs, apples, pears, apricots, etc.), fish and seafood. At the far end, in a grotto, female figures can be seen preparing food, while on the left, numerous marine divinities play horns, dance and embrace in a festive atmosphere. A group of cherubim in the foreground, three on the ground and one standing, pouring water from a ewer into a silver goblet, complete the scene of Arcadian abundance. This work, whose brilliance is enhanced by the copper support, is an excellent example of the vibrant, classical style of Antwerp painter and stained glass artist Hendrick van Balen the Elder. Van Balen was dean of the Antwerp Romanists, a brotherhood of artists who studied in Rome, and the present copper is steeped in this training in the ancient statuary and Renaissance frescoes of the Eternal City, as well as having a brilliant Nordic sense of light, flesh and texture.