The five senses

“The Five Senses” is the name of this 17th-century painting attributed to Theodoor van Thulden, which adorns the majestic staircase of the Merghelynck Museum. Each of the senses is represented by one or more characters performing an action with an object. On the far left, a man plays a lute, representing hearing. Next to him, a lady admires herself in a mirror, representing sight. In the centre of the painting is taste: a lady bringing a graceful glass of wine to her lips. She is seated at the head of a richly laid table on which we can see, among other things, a lobster, a pie and a lemon. On the far right is smell: a lady is smelling a flower, while several other blossoms rest on her lap. The sense of touch is depicted in a surprising, amusing and somewhat mischievous way: a man reaches with his right hand towards the bosom of a young lady!
Depictions of the five senses were particularly popular at the end of the sixteenth and in the seventeenth century. These are often works in which the five senses are depicted in a single scene, making them genre pieces: images of everyday life, portrayed by anonymous figures. As is the case here, it is not always immediately clear that this is an allegory of the five senses. A 17th-century thought-provoker, in other words.