A muscular man sits in the foreground, holding a goat steady as a small child drinks directly from its udder. Beside him, a woman in a blue dress supports the child, her arm encircling his body as she looks down, intent on the task. To their right, another young child, nude and crowned with leaves, sits on the ground by a large jug, holding a leafy branch and watching the scene.

Behind the central group, a woman in a flowing golden garment reaches up to a tree, her gesture animated and her gaze directed upward. Further back, a reclining figure with a crown of leaves and draped in pale cloth pours water from a vessel, her posture relaxed and her expression calm. The background opens onto a hilly landscape dotted with slender trees, their trunks arching and their leaves rendered in delicate, feathery brushstrokes.

On the left, two goats stand near the edge of a slope, their forms carefully modelled and their coats catching the light. The sky is luminous, with soft clouds drifting across a pale blue expanse, and sunlight falls from the left, casting gentle shadows and highlighting the figures’ skin and draperies. The palette is dominated by earthy browns, muted greens, and the rich blue and gold of the garments, creating a harmonious balance between the figures and the landscape.

Fine, controlled brushwork defines muscles, fabric folds, and foliage, while the composition is anchored by the vertical tree at the center and the diagonal sweep of the hillside. Small details, such as the delicate fingers of the child, the texture of the goat’s fur, and the subtle reflections in the water jug, reward close inspection. The Nurture of Jupiter is painted by Nicolas Poussin in the mid-1630s, as listed in the museum’s catalogue. The Dulwich Picture Gallery identifies this work as inventory DPG234 and places it among Poussin’s mythological scenes from the 1630s.