Allegory of the Five Senses, c1630. At first glace, this is simply a scene in a darkened inn frequented by the poor and down-and-out. Embedding a classical allegory (a symbolic image) in such a subject makes it especially intriguing. Each person acts out one of the five senses: sound is represented by the woman with a lute, at center; taste, by the man emptying a flask of wine; smell, by the young man with a melon; sight, by the man on the right holding a pair of spectacles; and touch, by the two people who are fighting.

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Size: 4960px × 3504px
Photo credit: © Heritage Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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