BIJLERT, Jan van
(b. 1597/98, Utrecht, d. 1671, Utrecht)

Allegory of the Sense of Smell

c. 1631
Oil on canvas, 97 x 91 cm
Private collection

The subject depicted is almost certainly an allegory of smell. The dog, an animal known for its acute sense of smell, leaps into the lap of the nude towards the rose which strains on its stem as it blooms, suggestive of a heady perfume. The painting likely formed part of a series of the Five Senses.