The «Allegory of the Five Senses» Series from the Prado: Allegory, Garland and Synesthesia in the Works of Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder

«Allegories of the Five Senses», a series of paintings by Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder held in the Prado Museum, is the result of artistic cooperation and co-creation of two great painters of 17th century and an example of synesthesia in Flemish painting. The works of Rubens and Brueghel portray the five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch) through allegorical female figures set in landscapes and surrounded by multiple still lifes. Flower garlands, being symbols of sensory experience, serve not only as decorative elements but also as links between physical sensation and its visual representation. The article explores the complexity and conceptual integrity of these works, as well as their visual richness within the kunstkammer («cabinet of curiosities» / «wonder-rooms») genre, which depicted cabinets filled with symbols of knowledge and represented sensory experience. The research is based on iconographic and stylistic analysis and draws on lesser-known sources, including exhibition catalogues and materials from archives. This approach allows for a new interpretation of the interaction between figures, garland elements, and surrounding objects. Allegorical and floral motifs typical of 17th-century Flemish and Spanish art gained a new meaning in the context of the Counter-Reformation. These works were part of the cultural policy of Archdukes Albert VII (1598–1621) and Isabella Clara Eugenia (1598–1633), governors of the Spanish Netherlands: art was a tool of political and ideological strategy of the state and sought to convey the image of prosperity and welfare of Flanders as a territory under the dominion of the Spanish Crown.

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