This large magnificiant painting of “Putti frolicking with a Goat in a Sylvan Wood” is typical of Peter Paul Ruben’s “Baroque” style and subject matter, the Putti, (or winged angel-like children), playing with a goat. The subject fascinated Rubens who during his teenage years produced numerous images of Putti, chubby male children usually nude and winged, with a goat in drawings, etchings and paintings. Distinct from cherubim, who represent a second order of angels, these figures were secular and presented a non-religious passion. Few of his oil studies survive while some are often copied by other Flemish artists and the goat related to the Greek Goddess Amalthea, who in mythology suckled Zeus in a cave on Mount Olympus and brought him up on her milk. There is a freedom of brushwork here in the handling of this rather bucolic scene that is a fitting tribute to the Flemish master himself. It has a wooden cradle supporting the back of the canvas and, despite two small patches, shows no signs of over-painting, remaining in good condition for it’s age.