This set of paintings on the five senses was one of the most successful collaborations of Peter Paul Reubens and Jan Brueghel “the elder.”

Reubens placed his figures in the magnificent courtly scenes created by Brueghel as settings for these allegories of the senses, resulting in a series of enormous quality and esthetic appeal. The subject was widely employed in Flemish painting.

Sight was considered the most important of the senses since the time of Aristotle. Here, Cupid shows Venus a painting on a Christian therme, The Healing of the Blind Man, which alludes to the recovery of sight through one of Christ's miracles and thus touches on both physical and spiritual vision.

The presence of a canvas with Saint Cecilia, a copy of Raphael's original, alongside some Roman busts, recalls the soul's introspective vision, an image of chastity and virtue.

Jan Brueghel was a protégé of the Archdukes Alberto and Isabel Clara Eugenia, and in this work he includes their portraits and a view of their Palace at Mariemont.

This work is signed on a paper close to the goddess's seat.

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