At first glace, this is simply a scene in a darkened inn frequented by the poor and down-and-out. Embedding a classical allegory (a symbolic image) in such a subject makes it especially intriguing. Each person acts out one of the five senses: sound is represented by the woman with a lute, at center; taste, by the man emptying a flask of wine; smell, by the young man with a melon; sight, by the man on the right holding a pair of spectacles; and touch, by the two people who are fighting.
Paolini's allegory dates from his early years in Rome, where he studied the paintings of Caravaggio (1571-1610), known for their realism and strong chiaroscuro (modeling in light and shade).
<bdi><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Pietro_Paolini" class="extiw" title="w:en:Pietro Paolini"><span title="Italian painter (1603-1681)">Pietro Paolini</span></a>
</bdi>
circa 1630 <div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,+1630-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1480,Q5727902</div>
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