Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678) was a Flemish painter of prodigious energy and lively imagination. He is one of the outstanding masters of the school of Antwerp.

Jacob Jordaens was born in Antwerp. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to Adam van Noort, who had been one of Peter Paul Rubens's masters. In 1615 Jordaens was admitted as a master into the Guild of St. Luke. The earliest dated extant work is an Adoration of the Shepherds, which was painted in 1616, the year he married Van Noort's daughter. Unlike Rubens and Anthony Van Dyck, Jordaens did not make the journey to Italy which was regarded in his day as essential for all ambitious young painters. Indeed, except for a visit to Holland in 1661, his entire life was passed in the southern Netherlands.

The influences that shaped the art of the young Jordaens are plainly visible in the Daughters of Cecrops...