Een oude man probeert de liefde van een jonge vrouw te kopen 1608 - 1612

This print, made by Andries Stock around the early 17th century, depicts an old man trying to buy the love of a young woman. Dominating the scene is the hourglass held aloft, a stark reminder of fleeting time and the inevitable decay of youth and beauty. This motif echoes through art history, appearing in countless vanitas paintings as a symbol of mortality. The dance of death is ever-present, a memento mori lurking in the background, dressed as a jester, mocking the folly of earthly pursuits. This figure connects to medieval allegories of death's omnipresence, such as Holbein's "Dance of Death." The coins, a symbol of ephemeral wealth, are placed in stark contrast with the skeletal figure. This juxtaposition speaks to a deeper, perhaps subconscious, fear: the futility of material possessions in the face of death. This image serves as a powerful reminder that, in the cyclical progression of life, symbols of mortality and vanity resurface, urging us to confront our own fleeting existence.