Smaak (Taste) - Cornelis Dusart

A character study from the Dutch Golden Age, this mezzotint depicts a monk enjoying a glass of wine, representing the sense of taste.

Cornelis Dusart, a pupil of Adriaen van Ostade, was a master of the Dutch genre tradition. This mezzotint, titled Smaak (Taste), belongs to a series depicting the five senses. The work captures a monk in a moment of indulgence, his expression contorted in a grimace of sensory pleasure as he holds a glass of wine. The composition relies on the tonal depth of the mezzotint process, which allows for soft transitions between light and shadow, creating a tactile quality in the monk's heavy habit and the wooden barrel beside him.

Dusart often focused on the lives of common people, frequently employing humour or satire to comment on human nature. Here, the monk is shown with a rosary hanging from his waist, a detail that contrasts with his worldly enjoyment of drink. The presence of a small pipe and a dish on the barrel further grounds the scene in a domestic, albeit slightly dishevelled, reality. The artist uses the medium to achieve a velvety darkness that pushes the figure forward, ensuring the focus remains on the monk's exaggerated facial features and his interaction with the wine glass. This print offers a glimpse into the late seventeenth-century Dutch interest in moralising genre scenes, where everyday activities were used to explore themes of temperance and excess. The technical execution demonstrates the high level of skill required for mezzotint engraving, a process that involves working from dark to light to build form and texture. The result is a character study that feels both immediate and observational, reflecting the artist's ability to render personality through subtle shifts in light and posture.