This painting of a young boy playing the flute, entranced by the music, is colored by strong realism. Is this a simple scene of daily life? Or, an allegory of Hearing, one of the Five Senses? Leyster’s bravura brushwork, and the boy’s unsteady pose as he leans against the broken chair-back, contribute to the momentary quality of the image. As the most ephemeral of the arts, music was associated with lust as well as transience.