The Five Senses 1600 - 1649

Curator: I find this allegorical print, "The Five Senses," quite fascinating. Created anonymously sometime between 1600 and 1649, it’s now held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: My immediate reaction is that it's overwhelmingly busy! The landscape teems with life, and the figures feel somewhat theatrical, each striking a very deliberate pose. Curator: Exactly. Note how the anonymous printmaker employs a very precise etching technique. Observe the contrasting areas of shadow and light, designed to focus the viewer’s eye on each central figure. Editor: I do appreciate the crispness of line that etching offers. What strikes me, thinking about it in its historical context, is how didactic it feels. The inclusion of animals alongside each female figure immediately directs our reading: dog equals smell, the monkey stands in for taste. How does this piece participate in broader cultural attitudes of the period? Curator: Undoubtedly, there’s a strong moralistic thread here, tying sensory experiences directly to concepts of virtue and vice, perhaps mirroring social concerns related to worldly pleasures. Note also the meticulous attention to textures: the soft drape of fabric versus the feathers of the birds or the fur of the dog, highlighting the materiality of each sense. The contrast almost forms its own vocabulary. Editor: I’m also intrigued by the broader landscape depicted here, receding into the background. Do you think its role is solely to set a stage for this allegorical drama, or might there be a comment here on humanity's place within the natural world? Curator: A provocative idea. It serves less as passive backdrop, more as integrated echo, blurring the line between the physical experience of senses and the broader tapestry of earthly existence, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Absolutely. It provides depth and anchors each symbolic performance, a kind of theater playing out within a fully realized world. I come away pondering just how forcefully visual art, such as this, shapes and reflects the societal mindset from whence it came. Curator: Indeed. A concise summation. The print provides much to observe concerning not just visual culture, but a worldview mediated via its sensory parameters, offering a snapshot into that very time.