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Wikimedia Commons · CC0 · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileA bearded old man leans forward with an eager expression to kiss a young woman, who looks toward the viewer with a skeptical smirk. Her hand is placed firmly against his shoulder to keep him at a distance, illustrating the theme of 'unequal love.' The scene takes place in a domestic interior with a woven basket on the floor and a bed visible in the background.
This work exemplifies the 'unequal lovers' (Gelijk en Ongelijk) trope popular in 16th-century Northern European art, which satirized the folly of old age pursuing youth. It relates to broader moral philosophical concerns regarding the 'ages of man' and the importance of acting according to one's station and temperament.
HGoltzius. Inue. Desine stulte senex vanis placare puellam Blandicijs, aliud viridis mea postulat etas. Ay loop gheck loop laet myn in vrede, Gy soeckt wat ioncks soo doe ic mede.
Translation
H. Goltzius invenit. Cease, foolish old man, to appease the girl with vain flatteries, my green age demands something else. Away, fool, away, leave me in peace, You seek what is young, and so do I too.
Sebastian Brant
The print reflects the themes of human folly, specifically the 'lustful old fool,' popularized in Brant's 1494 work 'The Ship of Fools' (Narrenschiff).
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Engraving
genre-scene
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC0
https://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.117775
Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication
4264 × 5394 px
c80204f55de7363a3b453ba46c93dc44d3d2cbcd
November 22, 2019
March 23, 2026
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 1, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.