Goddess of grains and the harvest, Ceres holds some corn cobs in her right hand while, with the left, she holds a horn of plenty. Two nymphs fill the cornucopia with fruits, symbolizing the Earth's generosity.

The subject is inspired by Ovid's mythological tales. In this collaboration between two artists, something quite frequent among Flemish painters, Rubens made the figures of the goddess and her companions, while Snyders, a specialist in still lifes and animals, depicted the fdrut, the monkey at the bottom, and the birds.

Rubens himself brought this work to Spain in 1628. In 1636, it was already hanging on the walls of Madrid's Alcázar Palace.