On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P01397
- Author
- Brueghel “the Elder”, Jan (Flemish), Reubens, Peter Paul (Flemish)
- Title
- Taste
- Chronology
- 1618
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 64 cm x 108 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCIONREAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
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.
A satyr pours nectar of the gods
into a sumptuous goblet held by a
nymph leaning on a table full of
food, alluding to taste and its
relation to the idea of
abundance.
In this apparently pagan, lustful
and animal-natured setting, the
garland and the three paintings in
the background bear a moral and
Christological meaning. The
Offering to Cibeles reveals a
disproportionate fondness for
abundance and wealth; The Abundant
Kitchen, near the top, while less
refined than the palace tables,
alludes to human weakness in the
face of gluttony, which is more
moderate in the Rustic Kitchen and
The Wedding Feast at Canna.
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