Theodoor Rombouts: Allegory of the five senses (1632)


(Museum of Fine Arts, Gent, Belgium)

A painting by the Flemish artist Theodoor Rombouts (1597-1637). This allegory shows 5 people who each represent one of the 5 classic senses. From left to right:

- the old man with a mirror and glasses: sight
- The man with a chirarrone: hearing
- the blind man who is touching some busts: touch
- the merry man with a glass of whine: taste
- the elegant young man with a pipe and garlic: smell

The garlic, the whine, music and the mirror also represent the deceitfulness of the sensory perception and to the viability of life. This painting was commissioned by Antoon Triest, bishop of Gent, in 1632.