Representations of The Four Seasons originate in the medieval illuminations of Books of Hours, and may be traced all the way through the History of Art to the explosive, abstract works of Cy Twombly, and even the clinical series of Spot Paintings by Damien Hirst. The subject of The Four Seasons was particularly favoured in Dutch and Flemish art of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, following the example of the great Pieter Bruegel the Elder, who established the genre as an independent category of painting. The traditional depictions of each t.mes of year through the condition of the landscape, weather, and produce, and the associated human activities, garb, and accoutrements, afforded artists ample opportunity for varied and detailed iconography, and provided patrons with romanticised, but encyclopedic, images of the world around them.

Vrancx, very much working in the Bruegelian model, became one of the foremost proponents of such series, and the number of versions and variations on the theme attest to the popularity of his inventive interpretations. Complete extant sets by Vrancx, however, are extremely rare. Four autograph, intact series of The Four Seasons, of different designs, have appeared on the market since 2010, but the present works would appear to make up the only surviving set of these particular compositions to remain together. The only other known series of this design, dated 1608, was sold as a complete set at Galerie Fievez, Brussels, 10 March 1927, lot 111, but has since been dispersed. The style of the present set is also entirely commensurate with Vrancx's early works, following his return to Antwerp from Italy in 1601.

The present series focuses particularly on the display of food and objects connected with each season. In Winter we find an everyday warming pan, kolf stick and ball, cabbages, beets, and sausages, but also the festive Duivekater pancake eaten on the Feast of Sinterklaas, the hat with the paper crown, probably worn on the Feast of the Epiphany, and the waffle iron, mask and red cost.mes associated with Carnival, the feast which signals the end of the darker months and the beginning of Spring. Spring itself is characterised by a colourful array of flowers and eggs, with spring onions, asparagus, cakes and pretzels, beyond all of which the good weather is signalled by the figure who has spread out lengths of cloth to be dried and bleached by the sun. The heat of Summer is evidenced by the harvester who sits and drinks thirstily in the field, his breeches and sleeves rolled up, surrounded by innumerable berries, fruits and more blooms, while the cooler temperatures of Autumn are indicated by the overcast sky, which appears behind the livestock being driven away, and the products of the harvest and hunting season, a variety of game birds, root vegetables, grapes and nuts strewn in the foreground.