Ill-Matched Marriage
| Ill-Matched Marriage (The Marriage Contract) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Follower of Quentin Matsys |
| Year | 1525–1530 |
| Medium | Oil on panel |
| Dimensions | 54 cm × 89 cm (21 in × 35 in) |
| Location | São Paulo Museum of Art, São Paulo |
The Ill-Matched Marriage (also known as The Marriage Contract) is an
Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza.[1]
Context and iconography
Many artists depicted the theme of marriage between people of differing age.
Dürer and Lucas Cranach the Elder dedicated works and studies to this subject. The representation of an old man marrying a younger woman is more common, but here Matsys depicts the opposite: a rich old woman marries a young man. Matsys made another version with the man older, now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Being caressed by the young man, the old woman offers him a wedding ring with her right hand and opens her bag, smoothed by the man's left hand. The mockery, hypocrisy and foolishness of the scene is highlighted by the burlesque features of the characters and, in particular, by the figure at right, shown putting the necklace spread on the table inside a box.
The "grotesque marriage" is also present in the satirical literature, as in the poem The Praise of Folly (1509).
References
- ^ Marques, Luiz (1998). Catálogo do Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand. Arte da Península Ibérica, do Centro e do Norte da Europa. São Paulo, Prêmio. pp. 87–91 (Portuguese)