In 1636, Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand, the brother of Philip IV of Spain, commissioned a set of around 60 paintings of mythological subjects from Rubens. The group was destined for the royal hunting lodge known as the Torre de la Parada, on the outskirts of Madrid. Rubens ended up doing only the sketches of the paintings, leaving much of their execution to “Antwerp’s greatest painters”. Jacob Jordaens was one of these and produced several of the paintings, among them Vertumnus and Pomona. Compared with Rubens’ sketch, Jordaens’ canvas is less busy, and appears to focus above all on the moment when the Roman gods entwine with tenderness. Jacob Jordaens’ painting belonged to the Counts of Santar collection and was bought by Sacor and given to the Caramulo Museum.