A bearded man in a dark robe and golden cloak recoils in horror at the left, his right arm raised and his mouth open in a grimace of shock. He sits on a red-draped throne, one foot braced on the floor, while his left hand clutches a sword by his side. Directly before him, a woman with disheveled blond hair and a bare shoulder lunges forward, thrusting the severed head of a child toward the man.

Her body twists with force, her face contorted with fury, and blood drips from the head she holds out. Behind her, another woman in a brown and gold dress supports her, gripping her arm and holding a staff or stick, her expression tense and urgent. A shadowy figure stands in the doorway at the back, partially obscured, watching the violent confrontation.

The setting is a grand interior with classical columns and an arched niche, while a sculpted cherub perches above the doorway, adding a note of irony to the brutal scene below. The light falls dramatically from the upper left, illuminating the central figures and highlighting the muscular forms, swirling drapery, and the sheen of metal objects scattered on the floor. Rich reds, golds, and earthy browns dominate the palette, with white cloth and pale flesh standing out in the composition.

Rubens’ energetic brushwork is visible in the loose, textured rendering of hair, fabric, and flesh, while details like the ornate sword hilt and the veins in the figures’ arms are sharply defined. The composition drives the action from right to left, with the figures arranged in a dynamic diagonal that heightens the sense of movement and violence. The subject is drawn from myth, with the presence of Tereus, a sword, and two women, as well as the severed head of a child, all visible in the scene.