Cavalier in the Shop

The key to understanding this genre painting is provided by the ambiguous and suggestive Latin inscription on the bunting, which can be translated in several ways, e.g., “he who will may buy” or “he who will may compare”. The inscription refers to both the cavalier’s action of running his fingers over the cloth and across the girl’s chin. The relationship of the old man at the fireplace to these goings-on remains unclear. The painting hanging in the background depicts the death of Abel and is probably a reference to the consequences of original sin.