The Unequal Couple (Old Man in Love), ca. 1530

ArtistLucas Cranach the Elder, Kronach 1472–1553 Weimar

Oil on beech wood

Dimensions without frame38,8 × 25,7 cm

Dimensions with frame51,1 × 38,7 cm

Status

on display, room 002

About the workMarriage is most suitable among equals, judged the Christian reformer Martin Luther. There are various surviving depictions of unequal couples by Lucas Cranach the Elder, who also painted several portraits of Luther. In this picture, a young woman is stroking the beard of an old man in a literal re-enactment of a German idiom meaning “to sweet talk someone”. The man hands her a necklace as a reward. This is not only a warning against venal love, but also against the “power of women”, which was a common pictorial subject at the time this work was created.

AccessionCollection of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf

Provenance[...]; seit 1932 Dauerleihgabe der Kunstakademie Düsseldorf

Inventory numberM 2248

Contact

sammlung@kunstpalast.de

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