More about Ill-Matched Lovers
- All
- Info
- Shop
Contributor
Some senior vice president at Disney said it best:
'Tale as old as time,true as it can be, barely even friends, then somebody bends, unexpectedly' (from Beauty and the Beast)
Except in this case, the tale as old as time is that the lady making eyes at the lecher with the gold is surreptitiously picking his pocket, and passing the goods to her accomplice. Just to make super sure everyone understands what is going on, the accomplice is licking his chops greedily.
Of course what the lecher is doing with his left hand is NOT OK! Also, speaking of hands, she should wash hers before touching his face.
For history nerds, the official National Gallery description of this painting also includes a poem, composed not by Disney, but by a long forgotten Flemish poet who perhaps inspired the painting:
'A rover—short, old, and free
With purse running over with gold,
Took a Venusberg lass for a spree
Who took clients like him in her hold.
That lass has her loose, lowly wiles,
Undoing his purse with its glut
While showing a face full of smiles
Like the grin of a flat halibut.'
Featured Content
Here is what Wikipedia says about Ill-Matched Lovers (Matsys)
The Ill-Matched Lovers is an oil painting by the early Netherlandish master Quentin Matsys, usually dated between 1520 and 1525. In the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington since 1971, the painting depicts the trope that old age can make one foolish. Matsys depicts this theme by showing an older man besotted by a younger, beautiful woman. He gazes at her adoringly, not noticing that with the aid of an accomplice, she is stealing his purse. The face of the old man was influenced by a drawing done by Leonardo da Vinci, demonstrating Matsys’ skill in combining Northern European themes with Italian elements.
The picture was exhibited at the Exhibition of Flemish Primitives at Bruges in 1902.
Check out the full Wikipedia article about Ill-Matched Lovers (Matsys)
Tale as old as time...