A Procuress with a Couple

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.