Smell (from The Five Senses) - Cornelis Cort

An allegorical engraving by Cornelis Cort depicting the sense of smell, featuring a woman with a floral arrangement and a dog.

This engraving, titled Smell, is part of a series depicting the five senses, executed by the Dutch printmaker Cornelis Cort after a design by Frans Floris. The work features a central female figure seated outdoors, engaged in the act of smelling a bouquet of flowers arranged in a large, woven vessel. A dog stands beside her, its posture mirroring her focus on the blossoms. The composition includes a potted plant on a stone ledge and a distant view of a town, providing a sense of spatial depth typical of the period.

Cort was a significant figure in the development of printmaking, known for his technical precision and his ability to translate the painterly qualities of Floris's designs into the medium of engraving. The work employs a sophisticated system of hatching and cross-hatching to define the textures of the fabric, the fur of the dog, and the organic forms of the flora. The Latin inscription at the base, 'IN CARVNCVLIS NARIVM ODORATVS CONSISTIT SENSORIVM, VNDE NERVI AD CEREBRVM PERTINCVNT', translates to 'The sense of smell consists in the caruncles of the nostrils, from where the nerves extend to the brain', reflecting the scientific and philosophical interests of the sixteenth century regarding human perception.

This print serves as an example of the allegorical tradition in Northern European art, where abstract concepts were personified through human activity and symbolic objects. The attention to detail in the botanical elements and the anatomical rendering of the figures demonstrate the high level of craftsmanship associated with Cort's output. The print remains a clear record of the collaborative relationship between the designer, Frans Floris, and the engraver, Cornelis Cort, whose work helped disseminate Mannerist styles across Europe.