from this time onwards that van Thulden's collaboration with Rubens is firmly documented. He first worked on the decorations for the 1635 Joyous Entry (the so-called 'Pompa Introitus') into Antwerp of the new governor of the Habsburg Netherlands Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand. Rubens was in overall charge of this project and enlisted the assistance of his fellow artists to execute the decorative project for this event. Rubens came up with the general concept of the decorative paintings but left their execution to about twenty painters. For the event, van Thulden was commissioned to paint the Arc of Mercury on the Sint-Jansbrug and the Porticus Austriaca on the Meirbrug, for which he received 3500 and 1500 guilders respectively. In addition van Thulden received from the Antwerp city council the commission to create prints of the art works and decorations that were created for the Joyous Entry. These were published in the Pompa Introitus honori serenissimi principis Ferdinandi Austriaci. The publication of this work was delayed by because Gaspar Gevaerts failed to deliver the captions for the prints. The work was only printed in 1641, and van Thulden was compensated by the city council for his loss resulting from the delay in publication. Rubens received in 1636 a commission from the Spanish king Philip IV of Spain to create a series of mythological paintings to decorate the Torre de la Parada, a hunting lodge of the king near Madrid. The mythological scenes depicted in the series were largely based on the Metamorphoses of Ovid. Rubens realized this important commission with the assistance of a large number of Antwerp painters such as Jacob Jordaens, Cornelis de Vos, Jan Cossiers, Peter Snayers, Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert, Jan Boeckhorst, Jacob Peter Gowy, Peeter Symons, Jan Baptist Borrekens and others, who worked after Rubens' designs. Van Thulden was also involved in this project as a collaborator. At least three of the works that van Thulden created for this series have been preserved at the Museo del Prado including Apollo pursuing the nymph Daphne. Van Thulden bought in 1636 his citizenship of the city of Antwerp and was chapel master of the Venerable Chapel in St. James's Church in 1637–1639. In 1639 he was dean of the chamber of rhetoric Olijftak. He was dean of the Guild of Saint Luke of Antwerp in the guild year 1639–1640. He never presented the accounts for the period of his tenure as dean