Albrecht Dürer, The Offer of Love (or the Ill-Assorted Couple)
Prasse Collection, 1972.309 · The Cleveland Museum of Art, Open Access (CC0)View original →
Albrecht Dürer

The Offer of Love (or the Ill-Assorted Couple)

1495–96

Current Collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Medium
engraving
Dimensions
15 × 13.9 cm
Status
In Museum Collection
Collect24 Art ID
C24-214904

Dürer’s early engraving of "unequal lovers" plays on a prevalent theme in northern European art in which a young woman seduces a much older man in order to steal his money. Dürer departed from standard representations of the subject and portrayed the male figure in his engraving as a willing participant, paying for the services he’s about to receive. Although scenes of unequal lovers often carry moralizing messages about the dangers of women, the idyllic setting of this image and the seemingly familiar transaction between prostitute and patron suggest a more complex situation beyond simple ca…

Provenance

Prasse Collection, 1972.309

Registry history

  • 1495–96 — Recorded in the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art — prints

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