A muscular armored figure, identified as Mars, strides forcefully toward the right, his red cape swirling and his sword drawn, while a pale, voluptuous woman clings to his arm in a desperate attempt to restrain him. The woman, Venus, is surrounded by small winged children—Amors and Cupids—who also try to hold Mars back, their gestures urgent and their faces anxious. To the left, a woman dressed in black raises her arms in anguish, her mouth open in a silent cry, standing near a columned structure with an open door behind her, which represents the Temple of Janus.

At Mars's feet lie a book and a drawing, trampled and disregarded, symbolizing the destruction of the arts and letters during times of war. The right side of the canvas is dominated by a wild, dark-haired female figure—Alekto, the Fury—who drags Mars forward with one hand and brandishes a flaming torch with the other, her expression fierce and relentless. On the lower right, a woman holding a child crouches protectively, her face turned in distress, while beside her another woman lies on the ground, her lute broken, representing Harmony cast down and silenced by war.

Scattered on the ground near Venus and the Cupids are arrows, an olive branch, and a caduceus, all symbols of peace and concord now discarded and ignored. The composition is crowded and dynamic, with swirling lines and overlapping bodies, creating a sense of urgent movement and tumult. Light falls dramatically on the central figures of Mars and Venus, illuminating their flesh and armor, while the background is shrouded in stormy darkness, heightening the emotional intensity.

Rubens uses vigorous, visible brushstrokes to model flesh, drapery, and metallic surfaces, lending the scene a tactile richness and energy. The color scheme is dominated by warm flesh tones, deep reds, and the gleam of steel, set against a backdrop of somber greys and browns. Consequences of War was painted by Peter Paul Rubens between 1637 and 1638, as an allegory responding to the devastation of the Thirty Years' War. The painting is a vivid example of the Baroque movement, characterized by dramatic action, emotional intensity, and complex allegorical symbolism.