The Unequal Couple (Old Man in Love)

The theme of the unequal couple, which had its heyday in prints in the 16th century, can be considered a combination of a secular genre picture and the Medieval Christian representations of the vices. The caricature-like distorted face of the old man, who in this image lecherously embraces a noticeably young and pretty woman and is presenting her with a piece of jewelry as a sign of his wealth, is destined to persuade her to stroke his beard and do him good. The image of the couple is usually interpreted as a harlot and her client but it could also be a marriage of convenience, especially as the theme’s otherwise clearly erotic undertone is downplayed here. Especially against the backdrop of the Lutheran assertion that “marriage is best among equals” we can discern a moralizing thrust. Cranach and his studio repeatedly took up the theme.