Taste (Gustus), from Quinque Sensuum

Franz Cleyn|Robert Walton

ca. 1655 · Engraving · Drawings and Prints

Horizontal panel with the personification of Gustus (Taste) shown at center as a female figure eating from a bowl of fruit on her lap. She appears under an arch, which is flanked by cornucopias sprouting foliate scrolls. Snakes, birds, and putti take fruit from the cornucopia. The series, consisting of a title and five plates with the senses personified by female figures, is titled 'Quinque sensuum descriptio, in eo picturae genere quod (Grottesche) vocant Itali' (Description of the Five Senses in that kind of painting that the Italians call grotesque). This set belongs to the 3rd edition, published in London by Robert Walton after 1646 (ca. 1655). An inscription on the title plate (45.101.1) credits Walton as the publisher ('SOULD BY RO: WALTON), but there are visible traces of the name and address of the publisher of previous editions.

Artist

Franz Cleyn|Robert Walton

Date

ca. 1655

Medium

Engraving

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1945