An Allegory of Taste

This formed part of a series of the Five Senses, inspired ultimately by the set in the Prado (nos. 1394-8) by Rubens and Jan Brueghel I; Hearing from a different set, perhaps of the same design, was the picture sold in these Rooms, 13 December 2000, lot 8, as 'Jan Brueghel II' (£420,000). Another version of Taste, from a different set, was offered in these Rooms, 31 May 1935, lot 115, as 'Teniers, van Kessel and Hendrick van Balen', in which there are alterations in the still life elements and a different treatment of the figures. The figures in the present picture appear to be by a minor hand from the immediate circle of Hendrick van Balen.