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In the foreground of this painting stands out the powerful figure of a satyr -a mythological character with the horns and legs of a goat- playing melancholy the flute in a twilight Arcadian setting. Such vigorous naked figures, related to the classical and mythological worlds, are recurrent in Jordaens's production and reveal the painter's exceptional gift for conveying in these subjects the intensity that characterises most of his oeuvre. This is enhanced by the original manner that defines his style, with long and vibrant impasto brushstrokes that give the impression of movement. The twilight offers the painter the opportunity to render the luminous contrasts he so much cherished. This work dates from around 1639, the most prolific period in Jordaens's career.

The present composition is quite different from the one Jordaens originally produced: a photograph of the canvas taken in 1956 reveals that the format was practically square and two little children and a sleeping nymph appeared at the satyr's feet. The canvas was subsequently cut and the location of the lower half remains unknown. The painter's original intention was thus to depict a specific mythological theme, which according to Matías Díaz Padrón was Jupiter as a child, featuring the figure of the god in the lower half. As the myth goes, the nymphs tended to him, feeding him on milk from Aix the goat on the slopes of Mount Ida in Crete, where he had been born to Rea in the cave known as Ideon Antron.

Having trained at the workshop of Adam van Noort, Jordaens later became a disciple and a collaborator of Rubens's, his most important influence as regards both themes and compositions. Without ever leaving Antwerp, he became the most successful painter in the Southern Netherlands once Rubens and Van Dyck had passed away. Jordaens's fame extended beyond Flanders, as a result of which he was commissioned works by prominent European monarchs like Philip IV of Spain, Charles I of England and Christina of Sweden. [Ana Sánchez-Lassa]

Selected bibliography

• Tesoros del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : pintura, 1400-1939 [Cat. exp.]. Madrid, El Viso, 1989. pp. 54-55. n° cat. 12.
• Capolavori dal Museo di Bellas Artes di Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Roma, Leonardo-De Luca, 1991. pp. 48-50, n° cat. 22. (Con el título Dio Pan che suona il flauto)
• Gállego, Julián. "Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoak eskuratutako antxinako artelanak, 1980-1992 = Adquisiciones de arte antíguo en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 1980-1992 [Folleto]", Guía de Exposiciones, n° 181. 1993. n° cat. 17.
• Jacob Jordaens, 1593-1678 : paintings and tapestries [Cat. exp.]. Antwerp, Gemeentekrediet, 1993. vol. I, p. 150, fig. A43a.
• Castañer López, Xesqui. Pinturas y pintores flamencos, holandeses y alemanes en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Bilbao, Fundación Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa, 1995. pp. 178-180, n° cat. 63.
• Zugaza, Miguel ... [et al.]. Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : maestros antiguos y modernos. Bilbao, Fundación Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa = Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa Fundazioa, 1999. pp. 120-121.
• Sánchez-Lassa de los Santos, Ana. Flandestarrak Bilboko Arte Eder Museoan = Flamencos en el Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao [Folleto]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2000. p. 18, n° cat. 16.
• Zugaza, Miguel ... [et al.]. Maestros antiguos y modernos en las colecciones del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2001. p. 57.
• Bilbao a Genova : la cultura cambia le città [Cat. exp.]. Milano, Skira, 2003. pp. 82-83, n° cat. 5. (Con el título Il dio Pan mentre suona il flauto (frammento), y atribuido a Jacob Jordaens)
• Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 62.
• Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 62.
• Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 62.
• Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2011. p. 62, n° cat. 42.
• Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa : gida. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2012. p. 62, n° cat. 42.
• Díaz Padrón, Matías. "Jordanes : sátiro tocando la flauta (La infancia de Júpiter) = Jordanes : Satyr Playing the Pipe (Jupiter's Childhood) = Jordaens : Satiroa txirula jotzen (Jupiterren haurtzaroa)", Buletina = Boletín = Bulletin, n° 6. 2012. pp. 151-174, 249-255.
• Barroco exuberante : de Catelan a Zurbarán : manifiestos de la precariedad vital [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao ; Zürich, Guggenheim Bilbao ; Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft = Kunsthaus Zürich, 2013. pp. 101, 166.
• Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 62.
• Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 62.
• 110 Años 110 Obras [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 114-115, sin n° cat.
• 110 Ans 110 Oeuvres [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 114-115, sin n° cat.
• 110 Urte 110 Artelan [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 114-115, sin n° cat.
• 110 Years 110 Works [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 114-115, sin n° cat.
• Díaz Padrón, Matías. Jacob Jordaens y España. Madrid, Instituto Moll, 2018. 2 T.. pp. 65, 258-261, n° cat. 38. (con el título La infancia de Júpiter)