While all of the figures in Ballin's murals at the Getz house were allegorical representations of themes, he was not always successful in communicating those themes. According to Ballin's notes on the murals at the Getz House, this portion of the Wall of the Senses is meant to depict "Scent and Touch," but that was not clear to art critic Arthur Millier when he reviewed the murals for California Southland magazine in 1927. Although Millier glowingly described in detail each portion of the other four panels, here he praised only the portions of the mural depicting hearing ("a Persian hunting scene") and taste ("a feast"), rather than this central section. Unlike those portions, Ballin's interpretation of "scent" and "touch" is conveyed by figures in action, demonstrating the senses that they represent. The older woman and child in the left side of the section are smelling flowers to represent "scent" and the naked woman being attended to in the foreground touches the water with her toe to represent "touch." This section of the murals thereby reveals Ballin's reliance on filmmaking techniques in his work at the Getz house: when his creative use of allegory failed him, he relied on using figures in motion to act out the story he intended to tell.

Image appears in the Hugo Ballin Papers (collection #407), Charles Young Library, Department of Special Collections, University of California Los Angeles, Box 15, Folder 4.

Description of the murals from Arthur Millier's review of the murals, “The Ballin Murals in Los Angeles,” California Southland (1927).