Jong paar en een oude man met geldkist (Ongelijke liefde). NL-HlmNHA 1477 53010798

This engraving depicts the moralizing theme of 'ill-matched love,' where an elderly figure attempts to buy the affection of a youth. The young man, dressed in elaborate 16th-century finery, maintains an embrace with a young woman while gesturing toward the coins, highlighting the tension between natural desire and material greed. The scene is characterized by the intricate textures of the ruffs and the expressive, contrasting facial features of the figures.

This work reflects Northern Renaissance interest in the satire of human folly and the corrupting influence of avarice on the soul. It aligns with the moral philosophy of humanists like Desiderius Erasmus, who critiqued the vanity and spiritual blindness inherent in such worldly exchanges.