Artwork
An Old Man with a Girl
An Old Man with a Girl is a paint painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder. It dates from 1535 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Created by Lucas Cranach the Elder in 1535, the painting portrays the juxtaposition of an old man with a young girl.
The work depicts an ill-matched couple, a genre scene that functions as an allegory. Created by Lucas Cranach the Elder in 1535, the painting portrays the juxtaposition of an old man with a young girl. This specific pairing serves as the main subject, representing the thematic concept of an ill-matched union.
As an allegorical genre piece, the composition utilizes these figures to symbolize the moral or social implications of such disparities in age and relationship dynamics.
Technique & Style
The painting is executed in paint on a beech wood support, measuring 19.5 × 14.5 cm. Its small scale suggests an intimate, portable format typical of Cranach's later works. The medium and handling align with the artist's established practice in panel painting, though specific details of paint application and current condition are not recorded in the available sources. As a genre scene with allegorical dimensions, the work exemplifies Cranach's engagement with the popular theme of the ill-matched couple, rendered with the refined, detailed manner characteristic of his 1530s output.
History & Provenance
Lucas Cranach the Elder painted An Old Man with a Girl / An Ill-matched Couple in 1535. The work is executed in paint on beech wood and measures 19.5 × 14.5 cm. It is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
The painting An Old Man with a Girl, also known as An Ill-matched Couple, is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Created by Lucas Cranach the Elder in 1535, the work is part of the museum's permanent holdings of genre art and allegory. While specific accession numbers are not provided in the available records, the piece is cataloged within the institution's inventory as a 19.5 cm by 14.5 cm panel painting on beech wood. No exhibition history is documented in the current sources.
Overview
Painted in 1535, An Old Man with a Girl (also known as An Ill-matched Couple) is a genre scene by Lucas Cranach the Elder that exemplifies the artist's recurring motif of age disparity in romantic pairings. The composition features an elderly man and a young woman standing in close proximity against a neutral background, a format typical of Cranach's later portraiture and moralizing allegories. The man, dressed in dark garments with a prominent white ruff collar, smiles as he reaches out to touch the woman's hand, suggesting a courtship dynamic.
The young woman wears a red dress with voluminous ruffled sleeves and neckline, complemented by a white cap that frames her curled hair. Her pale complexion and direct gaze contrast with the man's weathered features. This work reflects the artist's sustained interest in the theme of the 'ill-matched couple,' often interpreted as a cautionary tale regarding vanity, greed, or the folly of late-life marriages.
Executed during the final decade of Cranach's life, the painting demonstrates his mature style, characterized by crisp outlines, vivid color contrasts, and a flattened spatial depth that prioritizes the psychological interaction between the figures over environmental detail.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Lucas Cranach the Elder was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving.
