The Triumph of Neptune and Amphitrite

This sea procession is painted on copper, a sheet about 23 by 31 centimetres, and the smooth metal let Frans Francken work at a scale where single pearls show. The story behind it is a wedding. In the Greek myth the sea nymph Amphitrite ran from Neptune's courtship, and it was a dolphin that found her and talked her round. Here the pair ride through the waves in triumph, drawn by white sea horses. Neptune sits with his crown and trident, and Amphitrite stands beside him, a blue wrap blowing out behind her as she points the way ahead. In front, a sea nymph lifts a dish of coral and shells with a string of pearls hanging over the rim, the riches of his kingdom, and a small boy rides a dolphin just below. Tritons carry poles hung with fish like banners, flying fish cross the sky, and far off on the right a group of nymphs waits in a grotto. Francken painted it in the 1630s, and his signature runs along the lower right edge.