At the Procuress

The young man feels himself to be the owner of the alluring body of a woman for which he has just handsomely paid. The theatrical costumes of the personages underline the timelessness of this scene, which – typically of the exponents of Caravaggionism from Utrecht – is of a moralising character. The painting is a condemnation of bad conduct, widespread at that time also because of the ongoing wars and the presence of mercenaries in the Netherlands, who contributed to the boom in prostitution.