The Sense of Taste

582
The Sense of Taste
ca. 1646
Jacob Adriaensz. Backer

The allegorical representation of the sense of taste is in fact a realistic portrait of a young, handsome country man crowned with a laurel wreath. The strong light falling from the right highlights his face and hand against the brown background, creating an air of gentle satisfaction around him by the play of shadows. The painting is nearly monochrome. As a typical representative of the so-called Amsterdam school, Backer successfully creates monumentality and the semblance of reality by implementing simple techniques and skilful tonality.