A Procuress with a Couple
around 1605/10 | Hans von Aachen
Matchmaking is a recurrent theme in Hans von Aachen’s body of work. In this example, the notion of the enticing offer is explicit: having paid with a gold timepiece, the suitor will take the young woman with him. The elderly procuress offers a necklace as an added incentive as the high-spirited gathering in the background merrily continues. A jester presents the hourglass as it runs down, signalling the end of self-indulgent profligacy.
Matchmaking is a recurrent theme in Hans von Aachen’s body of work. In this example, the notion of the enticing offer is explicit: having paid with a gold timepiece, the suitor will take the young woman with him. The elderly procuress offers a necklace as an added incentive as the high-spirited gathering in the background merrily continues. A jester presents the hourglass as it runs down, signalling the end of self-indulgent profligacy.
Artist:
Hans von Aachen (1552 Köln - 1615 Prag) DNB
Time:
around 1605/10
Object Name
Painting
Culture
German
Material/technology:
wood
Dimensions:
113,5 cm x 133 cm
Framed: 134,8 cm × 154,7 cm × 8,3 cm
Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie
Invs.
Gemäldegalerie, 1129
Provenance
Coll. Archbishop Guidobald Thun; in 1699 in the archbishop's gallery in Salzburg; sent to Vienna in 1806 (?); since 1837 dcumented in the gallery