This painting presents a story from Boccaccio’s ‘Decameron’. Cimon, a handsome but coarse and uneducated son of a nobleman, came across the maiden Iphegenia and fell instantly in love. The effects of love transformed him into a polished and accomplished gentleman, who eventually courted and married the beautiful Iphegenia. This scene shows the moment of their encounter – Cimon appears as a hunter at right, while Iphegenia dozes in the open air with a companion to the left. This painting is unusual in Poelenburgh’s oeuvre for the large size of the figures and the extraordinarily sensual attitude of Iphegenia.