A Spanish Brothel, Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen, 1545
etching, h 308mm × w 424mm More details
In this print Vermeyen exposes the folly of men who visit brothels. Numbed by drink and lust, the man at the left is being robbed of his moneybag. The man at the right pokes fingers in his inflated cheeks, a gesture that means that appearances are deceptive. The depiction was probably inspired by Vermeyen’s impressions of Spain, where he spent several years in the retinue of Emperor Charles v.
