Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index

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Click to view high resolution image Title: Ill-Assorted Couple Creator: Durer, Albrecht, artist Description: The Ill-Assorted Couple is an image that reflects themes of elderly sexuality as humorous. The trope of the elderly man attempting to maintain a sex life was funny to medieval people because it was commonly believed that sexual urges and prowess ceased to exist for men and women when they reached a certain age. The old man seeking to attract a younger woman was regarded as a foolish attempt by the man to trick himself into believing that he could inspire genuine sexual interest in a youthful lover. Old men who took young partners were often characterized by jealousy, lechery, and a lack of sexual prowess. Their lovers were typically portrayed as liars and adulterers who had no desire for the elderly man, but a great deal of desire for his wealth, status, and power. These themes are clearly played out in this engraving, which shows a bearded and bald old man closely sitting next to a busty young woman. The man is obviously wealthy, as is reflected by his fur-lined tunic and hat, money-purse, horse, and castle in the background. The young woman is also elaborately dressed in a heavy gown and headdress and carries a purse, but it is uncertain if she is independently wealthy, or she is wealthy as a result of being the old man’s lover. Their relationship is obviously sexually charged, but the nature of that relationship is unclear; she could be his wife, his mistress or a prostitute. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Rights: Open access Subject (See Also): Adultery Femininity Humor Masculinity Old Age Sexuality Geographic Area: Germany Century: 15 Date: 1495-1496 Related Work: Current Location: New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 19.73.105 Original Location: Nuremberg (?) Artistic Type (Category): Digital Images; Prints Artistic Type (Material/Technique): Engravings Donor: Height/Width/Length(cm): 14.9 cm/13.7 cm/ Inscription: Related Resources: Covey, Herbert C. "Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Sexuality of the Elderly During the Middle Ages." Gerontologist. Vol. 29. No. 1. 1989. Pgs. 96-98

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